Altered
by Phantom-Demon
Summary: After the battle with Thanos, the Harris sisters return home to live their lives, only to discover problems have arisen from the battle, Olyvia suffering the worst of it. Loki is trying to adjust to his new life, and Steve has to find a way to save Olyvia before she is lost to him forever, with an enchantress throwing everything she has at them. Steve x OC, Loki x OC
1. Chapter 1

**Firstly, if you have not read the prequel with its ridiculously long title because I suck with titles (the fanfic being "Sometimes Being Different is a Good Thing") you will most likely not have a clue as to what is going on and should go read that first.**

** Secondly, I do not own Avengers, Marvel, or anything related to it.  
**

** Thirdly, thank you to all my faithful readers. I hope you enjoy this one as much as the first. Let's get started shall we?**

**CHAPTER ONE**

It was a beautiful April day in Ashland as Steve Rogers made his way around the University campus. He was hoping to surprise his girlfriend, Olyvia Harris, by his early arrival. After she moved to the city for school in late December, he had returned to New York, and only had the chance to see her for a few days last month, only due to wanting to be there for her during her grandmother's funeral in March. It wasn't as sad of an occasion as her grandfather's funeral since they knew she was finally back with him, and it was more of a comfort to know they could be together again. Olyvia was expecting Steve, but in two more days, but since he hadn't been needed by S.H.I.E.L.D the last month or two, he decided to surprise her by showing up a few days early. He was going to be heading back to California with her for her sister's wedding. Dianne's parents were taken by surprise by the sudden proposal and in even more shock when they wanted to have the wedding in four months' time. Needless to say the girls' father thought there was a certain reason behind wanting such a quick wedding, and Loki nearly got beaten to death by the man before Dianne was able to explain that _no_ that wasn't why. Steve was even more terrified of the guy after witnessing that, and definitely knew he was going to stick to his standard of waiting until marriage for that sort of thing. Though, as time went by, he found it more and more difficult to keep such thoughts from his head, and the last time he had a small moment of privacy with Olyvia, his hands started wandering to areas they shouldn't. He kept telling himself he was a gentleman, he needed to act that way, not like a Tony Stark. There was no way in this world that he would _ever_ be like that man.

Steve came to a stop outside the Science building, where he knew Olyvia currently was, and checking his watch, saw that it was nearly time for her to be finished with her Chemistry class lecture. As he waited, he noticed quite a few groups of girls slow down and stare at him as they passed by, and he could feel the blush creeping up on his face. He still hadn't gotten used to those stares. Most of the time, he forgot he was the big guy he currently was, still thinking he was that small, scrawny kid from Brooklyn.

A large group of students then began filtering through the doors of the building, and Steve glanced down at his watch again. Olyvia's class should have gotten out by now so lifting his gaze, he searched among the sea of students for Olyvia's face. He first recognized her by her hair though. How could he miss that mass of blond, and most of the time frizzy, curls on her head? They were tamed today, but her hair was still as poufy as ever. She had her cell phone in her hand, poking at it, and Steve guessed she was doing that texting thing she had tried teaching him with his own phone. He had gotten enough of the concept to be able to reply with short phrases such as: ok, yes, no. Anything more complex than that he got frustrated with the phone.

With her attention diverted, Steve was able to walk right up behind her without her even noticing, still poking away at the phone. He was half tempted to see how long it took her to realize someone was following her, but he hadn't seen her in so long, he didn't want to wait to say hello.

"So how did your class go, Ms. Harris?" Steve asked.

Olyvia jumped, and turned around to see who was talking to her, before letting out an ecstatic scream as she threw her arms around Steve's neck and full on kissed him on the lips. Steve wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up off the ground as he deepened the kiss. He could tell a difference in her weight, but he knew it was from that bulging bag slung over her shoulder that was currently swinging into his hip.

"Steve! You're early! Like, two days early," Olyvia said when she broke away from the kiss, and gazed down into Steve's blue eyes, since he was still holding her up, "Or am I two days behind? Did I miss my lab yesterday?"

"No, you're right on schedule," Steve replied, "I just wanted to surprise you is all. Did it work?"

"Did it work? Yes it worked," Olyvia said, kissing him again, "I'm so happy to see you. I get two extra days with you!"

"My plan exactly," Steve replied, "I couldn't wait to see you, it feels like it's been forever."

"Because it _has_ been forever," Olyvia rebutted, "Forever, and ever, and I missed you so much."

They kissed again, and Steve knew they had to be attracting a lot of stares by now. Carefully setting her back down, the pulled apart, and Olyvia smiled somewhat goofily up at him as she wrapped her hand in his.

"So as for your first question, class went great," Olyvia said, "I'm sure you're tired of me telling you how hilarious my teacher is."

"You have mentioned it like…every phone call, which is every day," Steve said.

"I get it, I'll shut up about how funny my chemistry teacher is," Olyvia said, pursing her lips shut as the two began walking, Steve following Olyvia since he had no clue as to where they would be going, "So how did you get here?"

"Public transport from the airport," Steve replied, "Why?"

"Oh, just curious as to whether I would be giving you a ride," Olyvia said, "Unless…you plan on crashing at my apartment for the next few days."

Olyvia sounded hopeful that he would, but Steve knew that would only tempt the both of them, and he didn't want to risk that, because of the repercussions he _knew_ he would receive, from Olyvia's dad in particular. Though he did drop his luggage off at with the manager of Olyvia's apartment so he wouldn't have to lug it around with him, but he planned on just picking it up and going to a hotel.

"I don't know Olyvia," Steve said, "It would be safer if I just stayed at a hotel."

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior," Olyvia said, "You can sleep on the couch, and I'll lock my bedroom door, even though that wouldn't have any effect if you really wanted in."

Steve couldn't help but blush at that.

"And Whisper misses you bunches too," Olyvia went on.

Steve thought over it for a few seconds. Spending the money for a hotel didn't really bother him, since he was paid so much by S.H.I.E.L.D, but he was torn over whether to spend as much time as he could with Olyvia, or play it safe and see her when he visited.

"I'll make all the meals," Olyvia added, trying to sweeten the deal.

"Alright, you convinced me," Steve said.

"Yay!" Olyvia said happily, doing a little dance.

"But if there is one sign that things might go further than they should, I'm going to a hotel."

Olyvia nodded, "Understood. So where are your things?"

Steve played dumb, just to see what reaction he would get from her, "Things? I was supposed to bring stuff?"

Olyvia looked like she was about to have a heart attack, her eyes growing wide as she gawked at him, "You…didn't…bring…what Dianne told you to? Your suit! Oh God, she's going to have a coronary! And only at twenty-four! I guess it was a good thing she was able to celebrate one last birthday before she died."

Steve stopped, and placed his hands on Olyvia's shoulders, "I'm joking, I'm joking. I stopped by your apartment complex and your manager is keeping an eye on my luggage. He remembered me from last time I visited so that was the only reason he was willing."

Olyvia slowly took in a deep breath as her face starting to turn red in irritation, "Don't. Do that. Again!" she ordered, poking him in the chest with each word, "Dianne's anxiety is rubbing off on me and that is through the phone. Imagine how much worse it'll get when we arrive at my parent's place!"

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it," Steve chuckled before placing a kiss on Olyvia's nose, "So how is Dianne holding up?"

"Holding up? I do not believe she understands that term at the moment," Olyvia replied, "She called me this morning, and she is completely freaking out that her wedding is this Saturday, which is 'five more days! Five days Livy! FIVE! FIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEE!'"

"Yeah, that sounds like Dianne," Steve said, "You're getting better at your voice impersonations by the way."

"Thank you," Olyvia said with a smile, before taking one of Steve's hands again and continued walking "At least everything is ready. We just need guests to arrive, and Dianne to not gain five pounds, and Loki to not faint from his nerves. I think he's having a more difficult time with this, given that Thor and Odin are coming. I don't know how they're going to fit in."

"Who's idea was it to invite them then?" Steve asked.

"Thor's," Olyvia groaned, "When he found out, he insisted that he would never miss his brother's wedding, that it's going to be 'such a grand occasion!' And he didn't want his dad being left out so he mentioned it to him. 'Asgard can go one day without its king to see his son's wedding!' Ugh, just thinking about Thor talking is giving me a headache."

"You won't have to be there long around everyone though," Steve said, "In fact, after the wedding, I can kidnap you and take you straight back here."

"Tempting, but I already promised to help clean up," Olyvia replied, "It's my sister after all."

Steve nodded in understanding, and by now Olyvia had led them to the parking lot, "So you are finished for the day?"

Olyvia nodded, "My Chemistry lecture was my last class for the day. Tomorrow I have my lab though, so you can either stay at the apartment for me to return, or you can come with and hang out in the library until I'm done."

"Hmm…stay at the apartment…or come onto the campus where Livy will potentially be dealing with explosives…I might play it safe and stay at the apartment," Steve said.

Olyvia playfully slapped him on the arm, "I am good at chemistry, thank you very much. Besides, we're not messing with explosive materials yet."

"Yet?" Steve asked incredulously. He had just been joking.

"Hey, anything is possible," Olyvia said, "Back in high school, someone accidently turned a Bunsen Burner into a blowtorch practically because he was being stupid and was messing around with the gas nozzle and hose. He set fire to the counter."

"That…sounds exciting."

"I wasn't there personally, but as you can guess, the tale spread like wildfire through the school."

"I'm going to take that as an attempt of a bad joke," Steve said.

Olyvia smiled innocently up at Steve, "What can I say? Puns run in the family. You can blame my dad."

Reaching her red, '95 Toyota Camry that she bought herself just before moving to Ashland, Steve moved ahead and opened the driver's door for her before going over to the passenger side. It felt a little odd to him that she was the one driving, but she was so overprotective of the car already she wouldn't let him touch the steering wheel. Last time he offered, she nearly bit off his hands. He didn't want to remind her that it was _her_ who had rolled her last vehicle, but then again, that was the fault of invading aliens so he knew it was best to keep silent lest he lose more than just his hands.

It was just a fifteen minute drive from the University campus to Olyvia's apartment. She had forgone the dorms and looked for an apartment because she wanted to at least bring her cat along, and the dorms weren't exactly pet friendly. And just as Steve had said, Olyvia's manager had kept an eye on Steve's luggage, and they swung by the office to pick it up. Heading to the fourth floor of the building, Olyvia fished out the keys and unlocked the door. Stepping inside, she was greeted by the persistent yowling of her cat, who ran over to the entryway and then flopped over onto her back and proceeded to squirm around, begging for some love. Steve stopped just inside the door and stared in shock at the cat.

"My God she's gotten fat," Steve commented.

"It's because she doesn't have two other cats to chase around the house," Olyvia said, "And I don't play with her nearly as much because I'm busy with homework and studying."

"I can tell," Steve said, earning a glare from Olyvia.

"She's still cute and cuddly," Olyvia said defensively.

"Oh, I'm not arguing that," Steve said, "She's just…well, how is she going to get up?"

Olyvia stepped over the cat, who then proceeded to show she was not encumbered by her weight as she rolled back over onto her feet and speedily chased after Olyvia. Steve just shrugged, figuring it'd be best if he stayed silent, and placed his luggage by the couch so that it was out of the way. Olyvia placed her schoolbag at a small desk in the corner just on the other side of the couch, before swiveling around and letting herself fall down onto the couch, sprawling out a bit at the corner.

"Home sweet home," she sighed.

Steve sat down next to her, and Olyvia leaned over to cuddle up next to him as he wrapped his arms around her. Olyvia sighed contently as Steve's scent assaulted her senses, making her feel a little dizzy as though in a stupor, a smile tugging at her lips as she listened to the beat of his heart.

"I missed you," she whispered.

Steve bent his head down and kissed the top of hers, "I missed you too."

* * *

Dianne was in a panic. It was five more days until her wedding, and she was freaking out. If this was just a normal wedding, she could probably calm down a little, but since this was literally an intergalactic wedding, she was panicking. She was so worried about Thor absolutely ruining the wedding, and the reception, due to him being so…so…oblivious to his surroundings. He would perfectly fit the phrase "bull in a china shop" and that was why she was so worried. She was positive he wouldn't fit in, and her whole family would be staring, and wondering what sort of drugs he was on. What was worse, Thor just informed her that morning that his friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, whoever they were, were going to be attending as well. When she told Loki, he literally turned green, and asked if they could just run away and elope to avoid the catastrophe that was bound to happen.

Lying face down on her parents' couch, Dianne whimpered pitifully, wallowing in her misery. She wanted her wedding to be memorable, but for the _good_ reasons, not the bad! She heard Rosemary approaching the living room from the hallway that led to the bedrooms, but her chattering and footsteps stopped by the time she should have hit the living room.

"Just back away, real slow like," Rosemary said to her boyfriend, who was over for the evening since it was after school. Rosemary knew better than to be within throwing radius of Dianne when she was in these moods.

Her retreating footsteps were slow at first, but a few seconds later she could hear that the two were running, and most likely to the safety of upstairs. Dianne groaned again. She was just so stressed, she felt like blowing something up. It would make her feel better.

After a few more minutes, she could feel someone watching her, and since she didn't hear their approach, she knew exactly who it was. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she found Loki standing in front of her, waiting for her to show some sort of sign she was alive.

"Running away is still an option," Loki said.

"No, no it's not," Dianne sighed, "My mom would hunt me down and kill me, after all the work she's put into setting up the wedding I can't just run away. Though I'm sure she'd prefer all her work not being destroyed by your brother. And his friends."

Loki groaned at the mention of his brother's friends, and sat down beside his fiancée, "The one I'm worried about is Volstagg."

"The one you said eats a lot?"

Loki nodded and Dianne whimpered as she fell back against the couch limply, "This is going to be a nightmare!"

Reaching over to his beloved, Loki tenderly pulled her into his arms, feathering kisses down the side of her face before finally capturing her lips.

"When I see Thor again, I will speak with him," Loki said, "I promise you, nothing will go wrong on our wedding day."

"Something always goes wrong though. Always!" Dianne wailed.

"Then we'll say that Olyvia will trip and fall on her face while she's walking down to take her place as your…what did you call it again?"

"Maid of Honor."

"Yes that," Loki said, "So can we agree that will be the only thing that will go wrong?"  
"I don't think Olyvia would appreciate you jinxing her into ruining our wedding a little by embarrassing herself."

"Too bad," Loki rebutted, "She'll just have to put up with it. It's certainly better than my brother and his friends wrecking the place. I'll have Sif keep them in line. She's the only one who has any manners out of all of them and they're all scared of her."

"Good to know."

Sitting there for a few minutes, Dianne then wriggled herself out of Loki's grasp so that she could look him in the eye, "Oh, and one other thing. It's probably time for you to cut your hair for the wedding."

"I thought you liked it long though," Loki asked.

"I do," Dianne replied, running her fingers through his hair from the nape of his neck, "Because it's all…perfectly done and does that cute little flip at the ends, but Mom and I both agree that for the wedding, it'd look better if it were short."

"Very well," Loki said, "As long as it makes you happy, I'll do it."

"I'll make an appointment for you then to get your hair cut tomorrow or Wednesday," Dianne said, as she got up from the couch to get the phone to do just that.

She didn't get far though before Loki's hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back down onto his lap.

"You forgot something," he whispered before giving her a kiss on her lips, "There, now you can go."

Dianne smiled, and gave him one more kiss before getting back to her feet and heading over to the phone and grabbed the phonebook to find a number for a hair salon. As she flipped through the pages, she smiled even wider. It really didn't matter if the wedding was completely demolished by Thor and his friends, as long as Dianne would be married to the love of her life, that would make the day perfect.

* * *

As Olyvia promised, she was on her best behavior while Steve was staying at her place, and after making enchiladas for dinner, of which Steve ate _all_ of, she made up the couch for him to sleep on. It would be a few hours yet before bedtime, but she wasn't in need of the couch so she went ahead and did that first before sitting down at the desk and pulled out her homework from her classes. Steve stood behind her and leaned over so he could wrap his arms around her waist and rest his head on her shoulder, looking down at her homework as she scribbled out words and equations on her paper. Steve just stared in confusion as she worked on it.

"What is that?" Steve asked.

"Chemistry," Olyvia replied.

"No wonder I don't understand any of it," Steve said.

Olyvia chuckled, "You have yet to see my Calculus homework."

"I'd never be able to pass any of the classes you're taking," Steve muttered as Olyvia's hand flew across her paper, doing some sort of math equation, that much he could tell.

"It's not that hard," Olyvia said, and Steve scoffed, "Okay, it's not that hard for me."

"I'm dating a genius, that must be it," Steve said, kissing her on her cheek.

"Well, this genius will work better without distractions," Olyvia said, "As much as I love having you right here, it is very distracting."

Steve sighed, and placed a few more kisses on her cheek before moving to sit down on the couch. He didn't want her falling behind because of him. For the first half hour, Steve just watched her as she worked. She made the cutest faces when she was concentrating and trying to figure out a problem. He started becoming a little bored though, with nothing to do, so he grabbed his suitcase and pulled out the book he was currently reading. It was hours before Olyvia eventually finished, drained from the work, having to stare for so long at her paper. Dropping down onto the couch beside Steve, she leaned against him and closed her eyes, and he went ahead and placed his bookmark in between the pages before closing the book.

"You look exhausted," Steve said, "Is homework really that draining?"

"It sucks my energy out through my eyeballs," Olyvia muttered.

Steve smiled, and turned his head so he could kiss her. She hardly responded, so he knew she must have been thoroughly exhausted.

"You should go to bed then," Steve said, moving his lips to kiss her on the forehead.

"I'll do that…in a few minutes," Olyvia muttered, "I'm too comfortable right here."

Steve could live with that, and the two just sat there, enjoying each other's company until Olyvia decided it was time for her to go to her room and sleep.

"Goodnight," she whispered to Steve as she got up, planting one last kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight Livy," Steve replied as she sluggishly made her way to the hallway, where she gave one last wave to him before disappearing into it.

He waited a few minutes before grabbing his pajamas from his suitcase and headed into the bathroom to change, since it was also down the hall towards Olyvia's room. Her door was closed, and he could hear Whisper clawing at the door, obviously not happy about being confined to one room for the night. Once he had changed, he returned to the living room, shut off all the lights, and laid down on the couch. The moment his head hit the pillow, he rolled over onto his side so he could press the side of his face against it, and took in a deep breath. It smelled like Olyvia, not surprising since it was one of hers, but still Steve melted slightly as his eyes fluttered shut. He had missed Olyvia more than he had realized. That night, Steve slept better than he had in months.

* * *

Olyvia woke up the next morning at seven, which was early for her since she didn't have to be at her Chem lab until eleven o'clock and she usually slept in until eight-thirty or nine, but seeing as how her boyfriend had shown up early, and was sleeping on her couch, she found herself wide awake and eager to get the day started. She expected Steve to be up already, waiting patiently for her to wander out into the living room. He was always up early, like five in the morning early, an ungodly hour according to her. So heading out into the living room, she stopped and slowly inched her way into the kitchen when she saw that Steve was actually still asleep. She didn't want to wake him if he was _that_ tired. Doing her best to remain quiet, she began getting things out from the cupboards and fridge in order to get some breakfast made. She was glad she had all the fixings for a nice tasty breakfast already, since she had planned on making this same breakfast, just tomorrow, when she expected Steve to arrive. So she first sliced strawberries and sprinkled just a little bit of sugar on them before setting them back in the fridge as she got started on the waffle batter. It was as she was reaching for the stainless steel bowl to mix everything in that she knocked it off the counter, and Olyvia had to react quickly if she didn't want it hitting the floor with a clang and waking Steve. So flailing her arms and feet about, she barely caught it with the side of her foot and her hand. Looking over to Steve, she saw him shift a little, but it didn't look like he woke up.

"I am a ninja," Olyvia whispered triumphantly as she gripped the bowl better in her hand and set it back down on the counter.

Getting to work on mixing together the batter, she could Steve starting to stir more as her work started getting a little noisier. She had to move away from the half-wall counter area so she could actually cook the waffles in the waffle iron, which had to be placed on the other side of the kitchen, almost in the corner, since all the other electrical outlets were in use. She was halfway through cooking the second set of waffles, when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a head rest on her shoulder.

"I thought you'd wake up to the smell of food," Olyvia chuckled.

"Morning," Steve muttered sleepily.

Olyvia craned her head around to look at Steve's bleary-eyed face, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Steve simply nodded, letting his eyelids fall shut.

"How are you still tired? It's seven in the morning."

"Maybe because I slept for too long," Steve muttered, burying his face against Olyvia's neck, as if to hide from the light.

Olyvia smiled and leaned her head to the side to rest on Steve's. He was just so darn adorable. As she waited for the light on the waffle iron to go off telling her the food was ready, Steve began feathering kisses on her neck, sending shivers shooting down her spine, and distracting her from her current task.

"Steve," Olyvia said breathlessly, her eyes fluttering shut, "I'm trying to cook here."

He didn't seem to care, and turned Olyvia around to face him, capturing her lips with his. Olyvia leaned against the counter to help support her weight, since her legs were proceeding to turn into jello, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. It didn't take long for Olyvia to completely forget what she had been doing, her primary focus being Steve, and the feeling of his lips on hers, his hands sliding down to the small of her back, pulling her closer. It wasn't until the smell of smoke assaulted her senses that she was ripped out from her little fantasy world. Pushing Steve away, she cursed as she whirled around and flipped open the lid of the waffle iron. Grabbing a nearby pot holder, she began fanning away the smoke that came billowing out. After a good coughing fit, and turning on the exhaust fan in the stove to help suck out the smoke, it finally cleared away to reveal a very badly burnt waffle. Using a fork, Olyvia pulled the piece of charcoal from the iron.

"I think it'd be best if you uh…not distract me," Olyvia said, looking from the lump of charcoal to Steve, "Or else there won't be any breakfast."

Steve flushed red in embarrassment, "Sorry."

"No need to apologize," Olyvia assured him, "Just next time you're going to distract me like that, make sure I'm not cooking anything. I enjoy it too much to focus on anything else."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Steve said, "I think I'll just um…go change. Stay away from the kitchen so I don't end up burning the place down."

"Take your time," Olyvia said to him as he walked back into the living room, "Maybe I'll be able to get a few done while you're busy."

"I'll see what I can do," Steve replied, grabbing his change of clothes for the day and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

Looking back to the burned waffle, Olyvia tossed it into the trash. She could already tell today would be interesting.

* * *

Steve ended up following Olyvia back to the college and stayed in the Library reading while she went to her Chemistry lab. As he was reading, he had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching him, but looking around, he didn't see anyone looking at him. All the students were looking down at their own books, computers, or other technological devices. Pushing it aside, Steve went back to reading. Maybe he was just imagining it, being in a different place and not knowing anyone or anything around him.

It was another hour before Olyvia found him in the library, all smiles and told him of the fun time she had during her lab as they headed back to her car. She said many, many words he didn't understand, but as long as she was happy, he would put up with not understanding what she was going on about.

Once they were back at the apartment, Olyvia started packing up her suitcase so she would be ready to leave tomorrow afternoon after she was done with her classes that day. She was just glad she wouldn't have to get up super early to pick Steve up from the airport, now that he had shown up early. All she really needed to concern herself with was what clothes she'd be wearing during the day, and her toothbrush, hairbrush, and her make-up. Her bridesmaid dress was waiting for her at her parents' house, in one of their closets. What Olyvia really couldn't wait for was seeing Dianne in her wedding dress. She knew she would look absolutely beautiful, and couldn't wait to squeal and flail about over it.

Olyvia was busy for the rest of the day with her packing and cooking for the two of them that they didn't have too much time to spend with just each other. Which was probably a good thing, considering how things started getting that morning. Steve needed to work better on keeping his thoughts in line. After a little cuddle time after a rather late dinner, it was to bed for the both of them. Tomorrow was going to consist of a four hour drive, and over the twisty highway instead of the interstate.

Steve stayed at the apartment the next day, making sure he had all his things packed and wasn't forgetting anything. So by the time Olyvia got home, looking rather frazzled, he had everything by the door ready to be put in the car.

"Is that everything?" Olyvia asked as she set her school bag beside everything else.

Steve nodded, "I double checked that I had all your suitcases. You still might want to check yourself, but I think I got them all."

Olyvia went into her room and did a quick sweep of the room, to find that Steve had gotten everything. She gave him a peck on the cheek, saying a thank you for getting everything together, before making sure Whisper had enough food and water to last her four days. She had a large food dispenser that was full to the brim, and if the cat ate through all of that, she was a pig indeed. And the water bucket/dish system was completely full so she would be good on that for quite a while. One last thing Olyvia did before they headed out was toss a bunch of cat toys onto the living room floor, hoping she wouldn't return to a mess from her knocking things over in an effort to find something to play with.

"Do we really have to take the highway?" Steve asked as they placed their luggage into the trunk.

"There is no way I'm taking the interstate," Olyvia said, "Even though it's the same amount of time either way, it's more mileage on the interstate. Why? Can't handle Scott Mountain?"

Steve went a little green at the name of it. The last time they drove over that, it was when they were going to and from Olyvia's grandfather's funeral, and he had felt a little queasy going over it both times.

"Maybe just a little," Steve admitted.

"You'll be fine," Olyvia assured him, giving a peck on the lips as she shut the trunk before heading to the driver's seat.

With a sigh, Steve took his seat on the passenger side, buckling himself in. This was going to feel longer than four hours.

* * *

Dianne waited impatiently for Loki to return from his hair appointment. She wasn't concerned about how his hair would turn out as much as she was worried about him driving. That was one of the things he had recently learned, and he had gotten his license just last month, but he hadn't done much driving, only enough to know what to do and not to do. Still, she fretted anytime he got behind the wheel.

Sitting by the window facing the driveway, she hopped to her feet when she saw him pull up, and hurried outside. The moment he stepped out the door, she grabbed him by his shoulders and whirled him around to face her.

"Does it meet your approval?" Loki asked as Dianne studied his new look.

His hair was slicked back as it usually was, but the length didn't go any further than the nape of his neck. It looked really good though, and Dianne smiled.

"I like it," Dianne said, moving her hands to the back of his neck and began running her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck.

Loki's eyes fluttered shut, liking the feeling of her fingers entangling in his hair, and blindly reached out for Dianne's face, pulling her close and crushing their lips together. Bending into him, she wove her fingers deeper into his hair, trying to pull him closer if it were even possible. They broke away only once their lungs were demanding air, but Loki wouldn't let Dianne budge, keeping one arm wrapped tight around her waist while his other hand remained entangled in her hair.

"So are we now ready for Saturday?" Loki asked.

"Well, first we have to wait for Livy and Steve, and then we'll be ready," Dianne replied.

Loki smiled contently, and gave her a peck on her lips, "I've been waiting for far too long. I can't wait."

Dianne smiled back at him, her eyes sparkling in pure joy, "Neither can I. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Olyvia and Steve arrived at the Harris household just past seven o'clock that night, and Dianne was the first to greet them at the door.

"You had a safe trip I hope?" Dianne asked.

"No, Steve lost his tux and I broke the heel to my left shoe," Olyvia said just to tease her sister, but she could tell and glared at her.

"This isn't a good time to be testing me like that," Dianne growled.

"Believe me, you won't survive," Loki said from somewhere in the living room.

Olyvia pushed past her sister, "Where is my future brother-in-law? There he is! Hello Loki!"

Crossing the room, she enveloped him in a bear hug, and Loki froze, looking over to Dianne, asking for some help.

"Livy, let go of him," Dianne said.

Doing as her sister said, she took a step back away and took a closer look at Loki, "Hey, you cut your hair. Looks good."

"Thanks," Loki muttered.

Olyvia then turned to her sister, and went to open her arms to offer her a hug, but Dianne stopped her short.

"Touch me and you will lose both arms."

"Okay, okay, I get the message. So…where will Steve be staying?"

"Uh…," Dianne looked over to Steve then back to Olyvia, "I don't know, you'll have to ask Mom."

"I thought the plan was I'd be staying at a hotel with the rest of the guests," Steve said.

Olyvia sighed huffily, "But then you'll be so far away."

"Livy, this is a household of girls, plus Dad," Dianne began, "I think it would only be awkward for Steve to stay here."

"I guess you're right," Olyvia sighed again, this time sounding sullen, "You're staying for a little at least, then I'll drop you off at the hotel. Do we have any other guests here already?"

"They're all planning on showing up Friday," Dianne explained, "Except for Alexis and her family. They're going to drive down Saturday morning."

Olyvia winced a little, "Ooh, they're going to be pushing it. The wedding is at eleven, they better get up early in order to get everyone ready."

Dianne just shrugged, "Anyway, you're welcome to take your things upstairs."

Olyvia nodded, and started walking over to the hallway leading to the stairway when she was suddenly tackled to the ground by a small human.

"LIVY! You're home!" Rosemary squealed happily.

"Ack! Midget! I had luggage in my hands, thank you very much," Olyvia said indignantly.

Rosemary clambered off her sister, muttering an apology. Steve had made his way over by the time she was off, so he offered a hand to Olyvia, who graciously took it. Picking up her things again, she quickly headed upstairs, returning a few minutes later.

"So are you ready to get married?" Olyvia asked her sister excitedly.

"Yes and no," Dianne replied.

Loki looked over at Dianne with a panicked expression. What did _that_ mean?

"I'm ready, but I am not ready to have all this attention on me and I'm stressing out over everything," Dianne said, "I'm going to have a panic attack."

Loki sighed in relief. He was worried she may be having some second thoughts.

Walking over to her sister, Olyvia clapped a hand onto her shoulder.

"Don't worry, it'll be just fine," Olyvia assured her.

"Thor and his friends are coming," Dianne said blandly.

Olyvia pursed her lips, "Uh…well then…"

Dianne sighed. This was going to be an interesting weekend for sure.


	2. Chapter 2

**This is a note to my readers. I am catching up to what I've already written so updates may start becoming less frequent. Don't kill me! I'm typing as fast and as often as I can!**

**KaityMaxz: Hahaha! Hope you've had a chance to read the summary by now. Makes me happy seeing that you're so excited for the story you skipped the summary in order to read.**

**Xandrea: Yeah, I felt bad when I decided to put them in there. They'll behave though.**

**harrylee94: Your reviews make me laugh **_**every**_** time! You're so funny. And you'll see how the wedding goes. And yes, you should check out that other story.**

**Murado: Uh…this fic is rated T so…no, sorry.**

**I-have-an-original-pen-name: Thank you so much! XD**

**kakirovich: This story will focus more on Steve and Olyvia, but I will put as much Loki as I can in here, since he still does have to deal with the antagonist in this fic.**

**CHAPTER TWO**

Thursday was spent making final adjustments to Dianne's wedding dress, making sure it fit just perfectly. Loki was banned from coming over that day, since he was _not_ allowed to see it until Dianne was to be walking down the aisle. As she expected herself to react, Olyvia burst into a fit of squeals, oohs, and awws seeing her sister in the satin gown. The neckline went from her shoulders down into a wide v, looking like a collar almost, the part around her shoulders acting like sleeves, covering halfway down her upper arm. The right side of the collar wrapped down and around to the side of her bodice, which was fitted to her hips where the sleek white fabric then cascaded down and outward to the floor, a petticoat underneath to give the skirt some body. There was no train on the dress since Dianne didn't want the hassle, and the wedding would be taking place outside so it would just be easier without one.

Brenda was messing around with the seams on the side of the dress, seeing if it needed to be brought in at all, while Olyvia and Rosemary just stared in awe at their mother's handiwork. She was such a talented seamstress, and spent nearly every waking moment working on the dress since January, when Dianne found _the_ dress she wanted.

"You look so beautiful Dia," Rosemary complimented, staring up at her sister with a look of awe on her face from where she sat on the floor.

"Loki better faint when he sees you," Olyvia added.

Dianne rolled her eyes, "I would prefer he didn't. I'd like my fiancé to be conscious when I marry him."

Olyvia shrugged, "I'm sure he'd still mutter I do from where he lay on the ground."

"He'll definitely be impressed, but we'll try not to make him pass out on you," Rosemary said.

"Thank you Rosemary," Dianne said, before shooting a glare at Olyvia.

"What?"

"Oh you know what," Dianne said, "Now the both of you go try on your bridesmaid dresses. We need to make sure you haven't gained any weight living away from home Livy."

"Hey, I've been keeping up with my training thank you very much," Olyvia said indignantly as she pushed herself to her feet, and headed over to the sewing room closet where Rosemary was already pulling out her dress.

Their bridesmaid dresses were a deep emerald green with a sweetheart neckline, cap sleeves, and a fitted bodice to the hips where there was a slight twist in the fabric at the waistline that went diagonally down from the right to the left, and the skirt then went straight down from there to the floor. Since they were all girls, they went ahead and changed right in the room and their mother went over to check the other two girls' dresses. These they had just bought, so they wouldn't overwork their mother, but over time, she did have to make slight adjustments so they would fit properly.

"I think it fits just fine," Olyvia commented as her mother tugged and pulled.

"Raise your arms," her mother instructed.

She did as her mother told her, and raised her arms. Only the sleeves moved, as they should, instead of the whole dress coming up with her. Brenda pursed her lips as she critiqued the dress in her head.

"I'm still not very keen on how low the neckline is on yours," Brenda said.

Olyvia looked down, "It doesn't show that much…does it?"

"She just wants to make Steve blush," Dianne said from behind.

It was Olyvia who was blushing at the moment though, "I do not! And it really doesn't go _that_ low Mom. There are worse necklines out there."

Brenda sighed, "I guess. Just…don't bend over."

Rosemary snickered, and Olyvia tugged on her dress, trying to pull it up higher. She really didn't think it was that bad. It was only the dip of the sweetheart neckline that showed the cleavage her mother didn't like. She didn't get how Rosemary's didn't do the same thing. Maybe because she didn't have as much of a chest? Sure, she'd go with that.

The girls didn't have any problems with their dresses, and Dianne was beyond relieved that her dress didn't need to be taken in anymore. From the fitting two days ago, Brenda needed to take it in another two inches, one on each side, and Dianne was starting to panic that it wouldn't be done in time.

"Now, don't gain or lose any more weight Dia," Olyvia cautioned her as she changed back into her own clothes, "Or else it won't fit."

"Livy, please don't say anything else," Brenda begged, "She's stressed enough as it is."

Olyvia pursed her lips shut, showing she would do just that. She and Rosemary then left, and Brenda helped her daughter get out of the dress.

"Did you feel sick with nerves before your wedding?" Dianne asked.

"A little," Brenda admitted, "Your father though actually threw up the night before he was so nervous."

"That just might be me come Friday…which is tomorrow," Dianne said, "Oh God, I'm getting married in two days. I can't believe it's here already. It seemed just like yesterday it felt like it would take ages to get here."

"You aren't getting cold feet are you?" Brenda asked.

Dianne shook her head, "Not at all. I'm just…worried that things will go wrong, that I'll end up embarrassing myself."

"You are worrying far more than necessary," her mother said, carefully putting the dress away, "You'll be just fine. If anyone is going to embarrass themselves, it'll be Olyvia due to tripping over something."

Dianne cracked a smile, "That's what Loki is betting on happening."

"Well, Olyvia is known for klutziness. We can always count on her for that."

Changing back into her day clothes, she went over and gave her mom a hug, "Thanks Mom. For everything."

"You're welcome Dianne," Brenda replied, and after a few moments just standing there, Dianne heard her sniffle, "I can't believe you're getting married."

"Oh Mom, don't do this again," Dianne lamented.

"Sorry," she apologized, pulling away from Dianne so she could look her in the eye, "It's just…I'm going to miss you. As much as I've wanted you to move out and start your life before now, I'm going to miss you a lot. It'll be so different without you around."

Dianne smiled sadly. She had been with her parents for so long, it would be hard adjusting to not having them around all the time. Stepping forward, Dianne gave her mom another hug.

"I'll miss you too Mom."

* * *

After trying on the dresses, Olyvia spent the afternoon compiling music to play at the reception. She had been putting together playlists on her laptop for months, but she was still adding some, and needed Dianne to give the okay on everything. So once she had completed the list, she handed the laptop over to Dianne to look over it.

"I guess it's okay," Dianne said.

"What do you mean _okay_?" Olyvia asked, "You asked me to do this, you could sound a little more appreciative."

"Well…you know I'm not that big of romance songs, that's you," Dianne said.

Olyvia rolled her eyes, "Oh please, I will listen to just about anything, except country and rap, I do not just a big fan of romance."

Dianne just shrugged and Olyvia sighed.

"Alright, then you want me to put Abney Park on the list?"

"No way!" Dianne instantly shot the notion down, "That wouldn't even work."

"Skillet."

"That wouldn't either."

"Linkin Park, Within Temptation, Evanescence! Those are the bands you like! _None_ will work!"

"Those aren't the only ones," Dianne rebutted, "I have quite a few bands I like."

"Lady Gaga?" Olyvia asked.

"Don't even think about it."

"You like her songs though."

"Again, definitely _would not_ work."

Olyvia sighed in frustration, "So are you fine with what I have put together?"

Dianne sighed as well, "Yes, it's fine."

"Good, because I'm not going to spend hours remaking it," Olyvia said.

Dianne handed the laptop back to Olyvia, "I do have one question though."

"And what's that?" Olyvia asked blandly. She just wanted to take a nap after staring at her laptop screen for hours.

"Do you have to have Katy Perry's E.T on there?"

Olyvia smirked, "Of course. That's yours and Loki's song, remember."

Dianne glared at her sister, "You know, sometimes I hate you."

* * *

Friday was spent finishing up the last touches at the wedding venue, making sure everything was ready for the morrow. Dianne had kept herself glued to the weather station on the T.V during the whole week, ready to kill someone if there was even the slightest threat of rain on her wedding day. When they forecasted Saturday would possibly be cloudy, she became a little apprehensive, but on Friday it was said that it would only be slightly cloudy, and no chance of rain. Not only was Dianne relieved, but so was everyone else. She would have gone on a killing spree if it was going to rain, even though they had a backup plan if it did rain.

A majority of the wedding guests arrived that day as well, stopping by the Harris's house to inform them they had made it, and say hi. Stark was one of the first to arrive in the morning, surprisingly, introducing his girlfriend Pepper to Dianne. They had invited all of the Avengers, but it was a clear choice to not invite Fury. Everyone but his two assassins still hated his guts. Dianne was iffy on inviting Clint and Natasha, but eventually decided to do it. What was really surprising though, was that Bruce actually arrived. They thought he would decline the invitation to avoid being around people, but they were certainly glad to see him. It was later in the afternoon that the guest they had been expecting finally arrived.

Olyvia was in the living room with Steve, relaxing in the few moments she had before she expected yet another knock on the door when there was one. With a groan, she pushed herself off the couch, and glanced outside to see what sort of vehicle it was now. When she saw it was a minivan, she ran over to the door, yelling, "Kristie's here!"

Steve could hear a stampede of feet hurrying to the entryway as Olyvia almost ripped the front door off its hinges and threw her arms around the blond woman standing there. Getting to his feet, Steve cautiously moved close to the door to see what was going on as the rest of the family came rushing to the door, Dianne dragging Loki behind her. Allen was the only one who took his time and just walked over. After hellos were quickly said, they moved away from the doorway to allow them through. Following behind the unfamiliar blond, who Steve assumed was this Kristie Olyvia mentioned, and the man beside her, most likely the husband, were three boys, all of varying ages, and a small girl was being held in the father's arms, dead asleep. She couldn't have been more than just a year old.

Kristie then singled Dianne out, and pulled her into a hug, "Never did I think that the next time I would see you since last July it would be at your wedding."

"Life is full of surprises," Dianne said.

Rosemary and Olyvia scoffed. _That_ was an understatement.

Once Kristie let go of Dianne, she introduced her fiancé to her older sister, verifying that it was indeed Kristie. While they talked, the three boys wandered over to Rosemary, saying hello to her and giving her hugs as well. When they turned to Olyvia though, the two older ones tackled her.

"Hi Aunt Olyvia!" the eldest said, who had her around her shoulders.

"Aunt Livy!" the middle kid exclaimed, who was proceeding to push into her stomach, trying his best to actually knock her over.

"Hey guys," Olyvia said, wrapping her arms around the two boys, "Geez, you've gotten so big. Connor, you're already taller than Rosemary."

Connor took a step back and shifted his weight on his feet, turning pink in embarrassment, "Yeah, I guess I am."

"I'm getting tall too!" the younger boy said.

"Yes, yes you are," Olyvia said, "Also stronger, I can't breathe Fletcher."

Fletcher only laughed, and tried squeezing her tighter. Olyvia began making faces and gagging noises as she began to crumple over before falling down onto the floor. Steve smiled in amusement. This was the first time he had seen her interact with kids, and already he could tell she was good with them. She'd be a good mother. Once Olyvia was lying "dead" on the floor, Fletcher let go of her, and moved on to say hello to someone else. Popping her head up, she looked over to the youngest of the three boys.

"Do I get a hug too Vander?" she asked, holding out her arms.

Vander gave her an apprehensive look, before retreating back to his mother. Olyvia sighed in defeat and dropped her head back onto the floor.

"Rejected by a four year old," Olyvia pouted.

"I'll give you a hug if you want one," Steve offered, stepping closer to where she lay.

"I guess that'll work," Olyvia sighed, "Vander prefers his mom over everyone else. He's usually been leery of me. Guess I'll never get a hug from him. Oh the woes of being an Aunt."

As she began pushing herself up though, Vander came running over from his mother, and launched himself at Olyvia, knocking her back down onto her back and the air out of her lungs. She wasn't complaining though.

"Yay! Hug!"

Vander was quick to move though, and hurried back over to his mother, clinging onto her leg. Steve then offered a hand to Olyvia, who took it and pulled herself up.

"I'm happy now," Olyvia said, a grin on her face that went from ear to ear.

Steve couldn't help but smile as well. Seeing her happy made him happy. That really was all it took to lift his spirits.

"Well, I wish you a long, prosperous, and happy marriage," Kristie was saying to Dianne and Loki, "And if you hurt her, I'm going to come after you."

"Hey, that's my job," Olyvia said.

Kristie turned to face her, "I'm the older sister, it's my job. Now, who's this?"

She was referring to Steve, and he blushed a little now that the attention was on his now.

"This is Steve Rogers, my boyfriend," Olyvia said, her smile growing even bigger, if that were even possible, "Steve, this is my sister Kristie."

Steve extended a hand, which Kristie readily took and gave it a firm shake, "Nice to meet you ma'am. Olyvia has told me a lot about you."

"Ah, so you're the Steve Olyvia can't stop talking about," Kristie said, giving her sister a sly look, and making Olyvia blush, "A pleasure to finally meet you as well."

Steve looked over to Olyvia, who only tried hiding herself behind her hand. He didn't think she had mentioned him to anyone else. Apparently he was wrong. With Steve's attention elsewhere, Kristie looked to Olyvia, who was still looking at her, and mouthed "ma'am?" Olyvia mouthed back, "I'll explain later" and she left it at that.

Kristie and her family stayed for around another hour before deciding it was time to head back to the hotel. It wasn't much longer though that it was time for Loki and Steve to leave, and this was going to be the last time Loki would see Dianne before she would be walking down the aisle.

"You know, tonight will be the last night we'll have to say goodbye to each other and go our separate ways," Dianne said as the two stood by his car, taking as long as they could with their goodbyes.

Loki smiled, "That it will. And I can't wait."

"Just fifteen more hours," Dianne with a content sigh, "Fifteen. Time has just…flown by. Feels like it was just yesterday that you proposed."

"Well, I hope time decides to slow down once we're married," Loki said, kissing her on the forehead, "I don't want our lives to go by so quickly."

"I agree," Dianne said, standing up a little on her tip-toes to kiss Loki on the lips, "As of right now, it feels like tomorrow will never come."

"Then I'll let you go and sleep so tomorrow will come faster," Loki said, kissing her again.

"Hmm…good point, okay, goodnight, I love you, I'll see you tomorrow," Dianne said, giving him one last kiss before reluctantly pulling herself away.

"I love you too," Loki replied before Dianne got too far.

With another goofy grin, Dianne walked backwards towards the house, not wanting to turn away from Loki just yet. She watched him leave, and once he was out of sight, she turned around and ran into the house, hurrying up to her room. Quickly changing into her pajamas, she turned off the lights and jumped into bed, squeezing her eyes shut and waited anxiously for sleep to overcome her. She wanted tomorrow to come as fast as it could.

* * *

Dianne woke up at seven the next morning, slamming her hand down on the snooze button of her alarm clock to shut it up before sleepily pushing herself up and turning off the alarm so it wouldn't go off in ten minutes. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked over at the calendar on the wall, and a huge grin spread across her face. It was Saturday. Saturday! She was finally getting married today! Throwing the covers off, she ran to the bathroom, glad to find it was empty, and hopped into the shower. Through the din of the water raining down on the tub and the walls, she could hear Rosemary shouting that Dianne was officially awake. Dianne knew that once she stepped out of the bathroom, she would be whisked away by her mother and sisters, and beautified up, which she knew would take _hours_ even though they would team up to get it all done. Her mother and Kristie were going to work on her hair, and along with that, Kristie was also going to help Olyvia with the makeup. Rosemary was going to be in charge of holding everything and handing the others what they needed. She was the gofer girl today.

Drying herself off and brushing out her hair, she once again put on her pajamas and stepped out the door. All her sisters were there waiting, and grabbed her by the arm and took her into the sewing room, where all the supplies where. Kristie had Dianne change out of her pajamas into a robe, that way they wouldn't have to pull anything off over her head once her hair was done.

"Oh I'm so excited!" Kristie said ecstatically, "You're getting married! And I haven't even seen your dress yet. I'm going to cry, I just know it."

"Don't cry! You'll make me cry," Olyvia said.

"Don't either of you cry or else I'll cry," Dianne said.

"Which isn't allowed," Kristie said, "You'll ruin the makeup once it's on."

"I'll try my best," Dianne said, "As of right now, I'm actually feeling a little nauseous. My stomach is all in knots. I can't believe I'm getting married today."

"Enough chatter, we need to get started," Brenda said, coming in with all the hair products and accessories she would need.

The girls nodded, and while Brenda air-dried Dianne's hair, Kristie got to work on Rosemary's and Olyvia's hair, which was fairly easy, just some soft curls, then pulled into a low side ponytail on the right side, and a white flower hair piece tucked away on the right side. Olyvia simply had to brush out her hair to get the soft curls and do a few touch ups, while Rosemary actually had to have her hair curled with an iron, then combed out a little.

"I wonder how Loki is doing right now," Olyvia said aloud as she put on her makeup.

Rosemary snickered and Dianne let out a short laugh, which sort of sounded like a scoff too.

"That is a good question," Dianne said.

* * *

Loki felt nauseous. He never felt so sick before, and due to nerves of all things! He never got nervous. Never! Except now. On his wedding day. Oh, wedding day, that made his stomach twist into even more knots. Why was he so nervous? He had been looking forward to this day for months. Perhaps it was because he was nervous about messing things up and causing Dianne even more distress. She and her family worked so hard putting this together, and now, his brother and his friends were going to be there, and most likely screw _everything_ up.

"You look ill brother," Thor said as he came up behind Loki, who was staring at his reflection in the mirror for the past ten minutes, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is just fine," Loki replied, turning around to face his brother, grimacing when he saw Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral standing behind him, who were messing around with each other, complaining about the odd clothes they had to wear, and ended up knocking over a lamp and breaking it, "Just…fine."

Thor turned to his friends, who were trying to fix the lamp, before turning back to his brother, "I promise you, they will be on their best behavior."

"Doesn't mean they won't be any less destructive," Loki said, "They are inattentive to their surroundings and end up breaking things. I want things to go smoothly today, for Dianne."

Thor nodded, "I understand. I shall speak with them."

"The same also goes to you Thor," Loki said, "Keep your strength in mind when you're touching things. Or better yet, don't touch anything at all."

With another nod, Thor then went over to his friends to speak with them, and Loki dropped down into a chair. The hotel room was far too small for the five of them, especially with two of them being rather large in stature. To make matters worse, there was a knock at the door. Loki groaned as he got to his feet. He did not need another person in here. Opening the door, he found Steve and Stark standing there.

"We're here to make sure you're ready," Stark said.

"Please tell me it's time to leave," Loki practically begged.

Stark raised an eyebrow, "Someone sure sounds eager."

"I want to get away from _them_," Loki said, pointing over to his brother and friends, who were still attempting to clean up the lamp.

Steve sighed. He could see they were going to cause some issues.

"Well, once we're sure you have everything, we'll go," Stark said, "And was Thor your best man?"

"Never had the time to tell him about the Midgardian ways so he doesn't understand the position," Loki said, "Steve has taken that place."

"So you have the rings then?" Stark asked Steve, hoping he didn't just to see the man panic.

But he did have them, showing them to Stark to appease his curiosity, "I'm not stupid. Dianne would rip me to shreds if I forgot."

"Which would have been highly entertaining to watch," Stark said, "So we have everything? We can go?"

Loki nodded, and told the others to just leave the lamp alone, someone else would take care of it, they needed to go. The four men left the room, Loki leaving last with the few things of luggage he had. After informing the hotel management about the little accident in the room, Loki headed out to the parking lot where the others were waiting.

"Steve," Loki began, approaching the soldier, "Will you be stopping by the house at all before arriving at the wedding venue?"

Steve nodded, "I'm going to be heading over there now to help transport people."

"Could you bring this to Dianne for me?" Loki asked, handing him a medium sized, long box.

"Of course," Steve replied, taking it from him.

"So I guess this means I'll be riding with my brother," Loki grimaced, looking over to Thor, who had since met up with Sif, who was trying to get the boys to calm down. They still were being quite boisterous.

Steve gave Loki a sympathetic look, "Good luck."

Loki sighed. He would certainly need that luck.

* * *

The girls were making the last touches to Dianne's half-up do, placing a few small white flowers into her hair along where it was clipped together, and her makeup now that she was finally in her dress, when Olyvia barely made out the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Midget, someone is at the door, could you go get it?" Olyvia asked.

Rosemary nodded, and hurried downstairs, opening the door to find it was Steve.

"Hey Steve," Rosemary greeted, "Is it time to go already?"

"I'm a little early," Steve said, "I'm guessing you guys still are getting ready."

"Dianne is," Rosemary replied, "The rest of us are ready to go."

"You look nice, by the way," Steve complimented.

Rosemary smiled, "Thanks. But just wait until you see Dianne! She looks so pretty in her wedding dress! We've all made bets as to whether Loki will pass out when he sees her or not."

Steve laughed, "How did Dianne take that?"

"She bet that he'd waver slightly, not completely keel over as Olyvia and I expect," Rosemary replied, "If he does faint, Olyvia and I both get a hundred bucks."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Dianne gets a hundred each from the two of us," Rosemary replied, "So I may be hoping just a little that Loki will pass out."

Steve shook his head, "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in your guys' heads. You all have the weirdest thoughts I've ever heard."

"Hey Midget!" Olyvia shouted down the hallway, "Who is it?"

"It's your boyfriend!" Rosemary shouted, making Steve cringe. She still wasn't very careful with her volume.

"Then you help Mom and Kristie," Olyvia replied, and they could hear the clacking of her heels against the hardwood floor coming closer.

"Coming!" Rosemary called back, "See you later Steve."

Rosemary left, and a few seconds later Olyvia came around the corner. Steve was sure his jaw had hit the floor and just about dropped the box he was holding when he saw her. She looked absolutely amazing, the deep green color of the dress complimenting her skin perfectly. And the way the dress clung and glided over her curves, it was very flattering. He could feel his face growing warm, seeing more skin than Olyvia usually exposed. He wasn't sure how _he'd_ be able to concentrate with her around.

"We're just about ready to go," Olyvia said, "Mom is just putting the last finishing touches to Dianne's hair."

Steve didn't say anything in reply. He couldn't. He was struck speechless.

"Steve? You alright?" Olyvia asked.

Steve gave his head a shake to snap him back into reality, and cleared his throat, "Sorry, it's just…you look so beautiful."

Olyvia blushed and smiled timidly, "Well thank you. You look very handsome yourself. You always have looked really good in suits."

Steve began to bend down to give her a kiss when Olyvia took a step back to dodge it.

"I'm wearing lip gloss," she explained, "I'm sure you don't want that on your face."

"Right now, I don't really care," Steve whispered before cupping her face, and pulling her back in, claiming her lips with his.

Olyvia wasn't going to complain then, and took the few moments to give her boyfriend a proper greeting. Once they broke apart, she couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight of the bit of gloss on Steve's lips.

"Here, let me get you a napkin," she chuckled as she headed to the kitchen.

When she returned with a damp napkin, she turned her attention to the box.

"So what is that?" she asked.

"Oh, right," Steve said, mentally slapping himself for nearly forgetting, though it wasn't entirely his fault, and held it out to Olyvia, "This is for Dianne. From Loki. He wanted me to drop it off for him, since he is banned from the house this morning."

"Oh, then let's take it up to her," Olyvia said, taking the box from him, "You're not the groom so you are allowed to see her."

So following Olyvia upstairs, the two headed into the sewing room.

"Delivery for Dianne Harris," Olyvia said, handing the box over to her sister, "From her fiancé."

Dianne took the box from her, and opened it up, pulling out a large bouquet of red roses.

"Is this why you didn't get a bouquet?" Dianne asked her mother.

"Actually, I did have one for you," her mother replied, "But Loki's takes priority."

"Yes it does," Dianne was quick to agree, bringing the red petals up to her face and took in a deep breath. They smelled wonderful.

"There's something else in the box," Kristie noted, pointing to another smaller box inside.

Setting the bouquet down, Dianne removed the other box, untied the white ribbon around it and popped open the lid. She gasped when she saw the necklace/earring set inside. The necklace was a silver box chain, a heart pendent encrusted with diamonds hung on it, the earrings just studs of the same diamonds. It was beautiful.

"This we knew about," Olyvia said, "So we wouldn't end up getting you jewelry too."

Dianne began to get teary-eyed as she removed the necklace and earrings from the box.

"I am so spoiled," she said, doing her best to blink away the tears before they slipped from her eyes, handing the necklace over to her mom to help her put it on.

"Oh no!" Olyvia exclaimed, seeing the tears in her sister's eyes, "No, no, no! Don't cry! I'm going to cry!"

"You're going to ruin your makeup!" Kristie exclaimed.

* * *

Loki had just finally relaxed as he stood at the altar, waiting for things to start, when his nerves went crazy once more as he heard the music start. Already? It was already happening. Looking out across the group of guests, his eyes landed on his brother and father sitting in the front row. They both looked extremely happy for him, and though Loki believed they would just cause more problems with their presence, seeing those looks on their faces, it made him glad they were able to be here. He then turned his attention to the walkway that led from the tented area where the reception would take place, down to the gazebo where he was at. Steve and Olyvia were the first among the entourage to come down, followed by Rosemary and Juan, and then a few others whom Loki couldn't remember who they were. He knew they were family, but that was all he knew. Of course, most of the view of the walkway was obstructed on purpose so he wouldn't be able to clearly see Dianne until she was at the aisle, Olyvia having perfectly orchestrated it that way just to torture him. He could barely see the glimpses of white through the obstructions as Dianne made her way down, and shot a glare at Olyvia when he saw the sly smirk on her face. She was evil.

Turning his attention back to the archway at the start of the aisle, Loki's throat rammed itself into his throat as Dianne came into view, his eyes widening in shock and his stomach began to do even more somersaults. She was a vision, and he could see the slight blush on her face as she saw everyone stand up. When her eyes landed on him though, her face lit up as she smiled. Loki started feeling a little woozy and started to sway a little on his feet when he felt a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. He didn't have to look over to know it was Steve, he didn't exactly want to tear his eyes from Dianne anyway. Once she reached the altar, Allen handed Dianne off to Loki before taking his seat.

"You look beautiful," Loki whispered to her while he had the chance.

She smiled even wider, though her cheeks were already hurting from all the smiling she had done already. She was so happy she felt she would just explode into a cloud of butterflies and warm fuzzies.

Taking their place at the front of the altar, the minister started the ceremony. Loki could feel Dianne's quivering in his slightly from the nerves, so he squeezed her hand consolingly. She took in a deep breath and exhaled, keeping her eyes trained on him nearly the entire time, occasionally looking over to the minister. She didn't want to look at the crowd and remind herself of how many people were there. All that really mattered was that she was here with Loki.

Sharing their vows with each other, Loki's making Dianne tear up and she could hear Kristie in her head telling her no crying allowed, they then exchanged rings, Olyvia and Steve fulfilling their job for holding them and passing them off to the bride or groom. Then the part everyone had been waiting for. The kiss.

"You may now kiss the bride," the minister said.

Loki didn't hesitate as he cupped Dianne's face, and pulled her in for a tender kiss, and literally hundreds of flashes went off in the crowd from everyone taking a picture. Looking over, Olyvia saw Thor and his friends all jump, reaching for where their weapons normally would have been. Slapping a hand to her forehead, she groaned. They were just so jumpy. At least they weren't allowed to bring their weapons. There would be slightly less damage that way.

Linking their arms together, Dianne and Loki made their way back towards the reception area, the crowd tossing rice into the air as they walked on through. It was time to get the party started.

* * *

The reception was a little hectic, but after an hour of taking pictures and getting people settled in, no damage had been dealt to anyone or anything. Thor and his friends stayed mostly at their table, only getting up a few times to offer their congratulations to the couple, get food, or wander about to sate their curiosity about a few items about. Being instructed not to touch, they kept their hands mostly to themselves.

After all the guests had finished offering their congratulations to the couple and they had a chance to get seated, Olyvia and Rosemary walked up to their table, Olyvia handing over a hundred dollar bill while Rosemary handed over a few twenties.

"Since he didn't pass out," Olyvia said with a slight frown.

Loki looked over at Dianne, "You bet on whether I would pass out?"

"They started it," Dianne said, "And I said you wouldn't, just so you know. I thought you'd stumble a little at least, which you did."

"I'm sure he would have fallen over, had _someone_ not reached out and steadied him," Olyvia said, shooting a glare over at Steve who had followed her over.

"It was an automatic reaction," Steve said, "Please don't be angry with me."

"I'm not angry with you," Olyvia assured him, "Frustrated a little maybe, but not angry. I could have gotten a hundred bucks!"

"You're already rich, practically," Dianne said, "A hundred bucks is hardly anything to you now."

Olyvia shrugged, "Eh, still is a bit of money. I could have bought myself more groceries with that. Steve ate almost all the food in my refrigerator."

"Well that's your own fault for letting him eat your…" Dianne brows furrowed, "Wait a second… how could he eat all your food if he wasn't…there the whole two days before showing up here?"

Olyvia turned red as she began to panic, and grabbed Steve by the top of his tie and pulled him away with her back to their table. Dianne raised an eyebrow as she watched her sister retreat. That only gave away what she wasn't saying. Oh she would be in soooo much trouble with her parents if they ever found out, even if the lovebirds hadn't done anything, her parents would never encourage the two being alone.

"I'm confused," Rosemary said as she looked from Olyvia to Dianne, then back to Olyvia, her brow furrowed.

"It's best if it stays that way," Dianne said. If Rosemary figured out what Dianne had, the whole reception party would know about it within minutes.

Rosemary just shrugged and wandered off back to the table, leaving the couple alone for just a brief moment in time. Looking out across the dozens of guests, Dianne smiled seeing everyone enjoying themselves, and things _not_ being ruined and demolished before her eyes. Today was turning out to be a very good day. Out of all the guests though, the one person who seemed a little uneasy was Stark. She had a feeling he was uncomfortable with the whole wedding situation. Stark never seemed the type to take commitment very seriously, at least to her. With his girlfriend though, she could tell he cared about Pepper, but not ready for the same level of commitment she had just taken. Dianne had seen the way Pepper watched the kids as they ran about playing, with a sad smile on her face, and Tony had seen it too, which probably only helped add to his unease. Though she may not have been saying anything, it was easy to tell what she really wanted.

Turning her gaze away from the crowd, Dianne looked over to her new husband, her lips spreading into a wide smile. She was finally married to this man she fell hopelessly in love with, and couldn't wait to start their life together. She could see he had been watching her for some time too, a loving smile on his face.

"What?" Dianne asked, knowing he had something going through his mind.

"What what?" Loki asked.

"You look like you have something on your mind," she replied.

"Oh, just thinking of how lucky I am," Loki replied, "And how beautiful you look today. You are absolutely breathtaking."

Dianne blushed. She still wasn't used to Loki complimenting her in such a way. She wondered if she'd ever get used to it.

"Well, you look very, very, extremely handsome," Dianne replied, "As always, my dear husband."

Loki smiled even wider hearing her say that word, and pulled her in for a tender kiss, "I love you."

"I love you too," Dianne replied, kissing him again.

The couple was enjoying the moment until Dianne heard the soft subtle music in the background change to something danceable and the volume rise. Dianne groaned as she pulled away from Loki and glared at Olyvia, who was manning the music booth. Olyvia was motioning to the couple to get their butts out onto the dance floor.

"Livy wants us to go dance now," Dianne informed Loki.

"I'm assuming that is part of the Midgardian wedding tradition," Loki said.

Dianne nodded, "But, if you don't want to we don't need to, we can tell Livy she's out of luck, other people can dance."

Loki opened his mouth to reply, but Olyvia had grabbed a microphone and spoke into it, cutting him off.

"Will Mr. and Mrs. Odinson please make their way over to the dance floor?" Olyvia asked, "The party can't start without you!"

Dianne sighed heavily. Olyvia was just going to make a scene. She was surprised though when Loki stood, holding a hand out to her.

"You mean you want to?" Dianne asked.

"Would I like to dance with my wife? Of course," Loki replied.

A brilliant grin spread across Dianne's face, and how could she say no now? Taking Loki's hand the two made their way over to the dance floor. Dianne began feeling more self-conscious as she came closer to the dance floor, knowing everyone was watching. Once Loki pulled her into his arms though, she instantly forgot everyone around them as she became lost in him. Loki was her whole world now, and nothing else mattered, as long as she had him.

* * *

After the couple's first dance, others headed out on the dance floor. Dianne shot a glare over at Olyvia when she put on the E.T. song, and Olyvia only smiled innocently at her sister. With Olyvia in charge of the music though, Steve thought it would be pointless to ask her to dance, even though he actually wanted to, now that he knew he found the right partner for him. So he was rather surprised when Olyvia came running over to him, as well as she could run in her heels, grabbed his hands and pulled him onto his feet.

"Want to dance?" she asked.

"I thought you—," Steve began.

"The music doesn't need me changing the songs unless someone asks for a specific one," Olyvia replied, "That's the beauty of technology. So…dance?"

"Aren't I supposed to ask you though?" Steve asked.

"Uh…I guess you could."

"Then would you honor me with a dance?"

Olyvia nodded in reply, and the two made their way onto the dance floor. Rosemary watched the two with a grin on her face. Those two were just adorable, just like Dianne and Loki were adorable. Just perfect together.

"So when do you expect the Capsicle to ask your sister to marry him?" Stark asked, suddenly appearing at Rosemary's side, causing her to jump.

"Dude, don't do that," Rosemary said, placing her hand over her hammering heart, "As for your question, no idea. Do you think he will?"

"It's obvious he's completely infatuated with her," Stark replied, stealing Olyvia's chair and dragging it over to sit down by Rosemary, "I'd say…a month."

"Are you making a bet on that?" Rosemary asked.

"Five hundred bucks," Stark replied.

Rosemary pursed her lips as she thought over very carefully what to do. She just lost a hundred bucks today. But she felt she knew Steve pretty well and had an idea as to when he just might propose.

"Beginning of June," Rosemary said, "That's when he'll propose."

"What makes you say that?" Stark asked out of curiosity.

"She'll be out of school," Rosemary replied, "Makes more sense to me."

Stark thought over it a few seconds before extending his hand to her, "Alright then. It's a bet."

Rosemary shook Stark's hand, a smile tugging at the corner of her lip. She had a feeling she would be winning this one.

* * *

After dancing for a while, it was time to cut the cake, and even though Stark, and a good amount of other family guests, tried to get Loki to smash the cake into Dianne's face, Loki wasn't about to do that and die after being married for only a few hours. He knew Dianne would try, and at least maim him for it.

The reception was coming to a close as others indulged themselves with the cakes provided for them, and for the last activity of the afternoon was the bouquet toss.

"All unmarried women to the dance floor!" Kristie shouted to the guests, and the women then started making their way there.

"Midget, that means you too," Olyvia said as she got up from her seat, though rather unwillingly. She wasn't a big fan of the bouquet toss.

"What? But I'm only seventeen," Rosemary said.

Olyvia cried dramatically at being reminded of Rosemary's age, "Seventeen? Stop growing up!"

Rosemary just rolled her eyes as she got to her feet, grabbing Olyvia by her arm to help steer her over to the dance floor. Dianne took her spot across from the group of women, looking over her shoulder to make sure all were there before she threw the bouquet. She had to wait for Pepper to be coerced into the group before they were ready, and once she was there, faced forward again, and tossed the bouquet behind her. Olyvia jumped back as the other, crazier girls, jumped up and forward trying to catch it. She didn't want it _that_ badly. It arced over their reaching hands though, and Olyvia reached up just in time to avoid being hit in the head by it. She wasn't the only one who had a hand on it though.

"Here Pepper, you had it," Olyvia said, pushing it towards the redhead before letting go.

"No, it was sort of aimed at your head, I think it's supposed to be you," Pepper said, holding it back out to her.

"Pepper…just keep it," Olyvia said.

Pepper turned a bright red as she brought the bouquet back to her chest, "O-okay."

Olyvia, Rosemary, and Dianne all then looked over to Stark. He looked even more uncomfortable now.

"Well…all that's left now is winding down the party," Olyvia said.

"And cleanup for us," Rosemary said with a look of distaste.

Olyvia looked over to Thor's table, where his male friends had made an utter mess of.

"Yeah…this is going to be _fun_," Olyvia groaned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Time to get this plot started!**

**kakirovich: Oh…honestly, I forgot. . Sorry. We can say she was there or she had to stay in Asgard because someone needed to keep an eye on Asgard while Odin and Thor were gone.**

**harrylee94: Yes! You is awesome! And you'll see whether Loki has powers or not, it'll come in time.**

**Alleycat2834: I'm glad you think so. :)**

**Xandrea: Thank you so much! And I'm writing as often as I can, really I am!**

**Murado: We'll see if what I've written works. That sort of stuff isn't my forte anyway.**

**CHAPTER THREE**

Loki found his car covered with white streamers and other frilly, girly things attached to it, the words _Just Married_, drawn on the back window as he and Dianne made their way over to head back to their house on the coast. Dianne burst into laughter seeing the look of horror on his face seeing his car. After helping him remove what needed to be out of the way, as well as his jacket and tie so he was more comfortable, it was into the car and the two hour drive to their place. Dianne was all smiles the entire ride. She and her _husband_ were going to _their_ home. It was no longer, his home or her home, but theirs. She couldn't put into words how happy she was that they no longer had to go their separate ways, say goodbye to each other, at the end of the day.

Dianne's belongings were already at their place, having moved them all there last week, including her own vehicle, a new Subaru that she bought herself when she got back from the S.H.I.E.L.D mission. All she had remaining was one last bag of clothes and a few necessities that she tossed into the trunk, but that would be taken care of on the morrow, right before repacking clean clothes to take on their honeymoon.

It was still early in the evening when Loki pulled up in front of their home, and Dianne stayed in her seat as she let it sink in. This was her home now as well. It was a simple modern home, with two bedrooms, and two bathrooms, the living area facing the view of the ocean they had. Dianne didn't have much time to admire though, due to being removed from the vehicle as Loki took her into his arms, carrying her bridal style as he made his way to the door.

"You could have waited until the door to pick me up," Dianne laughed.

"And risk getting your beautiful gown dirty? Never" Loki replied, giving her a quick kiss.

Reaching the door, Loki somehow managed to unlock the door while still holding Dianne up, and as he was told the tradition was, carried her across the threshold. He didn't stop there though, and went straight to the bedroom.

"Eager much?" Dianne asked with a short laugh before Loki's lips occupied hers as he set her down onto the bed.

"Just kiss me," Loki said briefly before kissing her again.

Dianne melted into the bed, allowing herself to become lost in the sensations as they took over her body, her nerves disappearing as though they never existed, along with the world around them. Tonight, it was about each other.

* * *

It took hours to clean up after the guests left, though a few stayed behind and volunteered to help the Harris family do so. Thor and his friends tried to help, but after being assured they weren't needed, and receiving the evil eye from Brenda, they said their goodbyes. Fandral got a little too friendly with Olyvia with his farewell, getting a rise of jealously from Steve who pulled him away and handed him back to Thor.

Though cleanup was expected to be tedious and boring, Olyvia and Rosemary actually had a lot of fun, decorating each other with the decorations they pulled down. Steve just shook his head, a smile on his face, seeing the two having fun with each other. Being part of the wedding, and helping out with it, Steve couldn't help but entertain the idea of marriage himself. He and Olyvia had been together for a little over five months now, and with everything they had gone through at the start with their mission fighting against Thanos, they had grown very close, and dear, to one another. He couldn't imagine life without her anymore. One of the things he knew he had wanted to do was tell her about Peggy, since she deserved to know since he still harbored some feelings for her. It was hard to forget your first love, and he had told Olyvia just after Thanksgiving, and she was very understanding about the whole situation. He had expected her to get a little upset or something, but was grateful that it went over so well. As of now though, he thought of Peggy seldom now, still occasionally coming to his mind, but Olyvia was on his mind more often than not now. He could see himself settling down and starting a family with her, it became easier every day to see that. He was still scared to death about asking her though. What if she didn't feel the same way?

"Done!" Olyvia exclaimed as she zipped shut the bag her dad just stuffed the tent into, "Whew, I'm exhausted. I'm ready for bed."

"Just about bedtime, it took that long to cleanup," Rosemary said with a sigh, "And in our bridesmaid gowns. I'm glad we didn't tear them."

"Ditto," Olyvia said, walking over to Steve, "You going to head back to the hotel then?"

He nodded in reply, "I'll see you tomorrow morning though. I'll be riding back to Ashland with you. My flight back home leaves from their airport in a few days."

"Right," Olyvia said sadly, "So what time tomorrow morning?"

"Seven?" Steve asked hesitantly. He knew how much Olyvia hated getting up early.

She frowned hearing the time, "How about eight?"

"Then eight it is," Steve agreed, and bent down to give her a kiss, "I'll see you then."

"Alright, see you then," Olyvia replied, giving him another kiss while her dad was preoccupied and looking elsewhere so he wouldn't throw a hissy-fit over her kissing her boyfriend.

Making sure he had his keys and wallet, Steve headed to his car and back to the hotel. As he went to bed that night, he couldn't help but think what life would be like, how much better it would be, having Olyvia at his side always.

* * *

Dianne woke the next morning from the light caresses of her husband's hands along her back, occasionally accompanied by a lingering kiss somewhere on her skin. Shivering slightly from the tremors shooting down her spine, she rolled over and smiled wearily up at her husband.

"Good morning," she said tiredly. She wasn't much of a morning person.

"Good morning my love," Loki replied, bending down and kissing her tenderly.

Dianne's smile grew a little wider, still being too tired to get her muscles functioning properly. Blinking her eyes open a little more, she reached up a hand and ran her fingers through Loki's dark locks.

"You know, I like your hair all ruffled and mussed up like this," Dianne said, "You look adorable."

"Well, it didn't get that way by accident," Loki said as he scooted closer to her under the blankets, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Shouldn't we be getting up now though, and get our bags packed and leave on our honeymoon?" Dianne asked.

Loki frowned. He didn't want to get up just yet, he was enjoying himself too much.

"You just want to torture me don't you?" Loki asked.

"Torture you? Whatever do you mean?" Dianne chuckled.

"Can't we just stay right here all day? All week?" Loki asked, cuddling up next to her and feathered kisses along her neck.

"But…but…honeymoon," Dianne said pathetically, giving Loki her best puppy eyes.

Loki sighed in defeat. He could never say no to Dianne.

"How about another hour?" Loki debated.

Dianne looked over at the clock to see it said seven o'clock in the morning. Yeah, there was no way she was getting up now. Perhaps she should have looked at it before.

"Alright, one more hour," Dianne agreed.

* * *

After the hour was up, the newlyweds finally crawled out of bed, dressed into their day clothes and Dianne made breakfast for the two of them while Loki went and packed his things. Eating her breakfast, she then packed her things, and then the two were off, on their way to the airport to take a plane up to a resort in Montana where they would be for two weeks. Both Dianne and Loki decided on that place for a honeymoon location, mainly because Dianne liked the outdoors so much and the resort had a lot to offer in that area. Now that he had spent his first night with his wife though, Loki was starting to think being indoors sounded much more enjoyable.

"I can't believe I'm married," Dianne said with a huge smile on her face, gazing down at the wedding band and engagement ring she had on her left hand, "It's all so surreal…like it's too good to be true. Meeting such an amazing guy like you, and falling in love, and all that jazz…that stuff just…doesn't happen to me."

"If you think you're lucky for meeting me, I think something is wrong with you," Loki said.

"How so?" Dianne asked indignantly.

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Yes, I do," Dianne replied, "Because you are perfect in my eyes."

Loki scoffed, "I am not perfect. No one is."

"But you're perfect for me," Dianne replied, "Which is why I'm so lucky."

"Again, I would argue," Loki said, "I consider myself the lucky one."

"Are we really going to argue about something as silly as this?" Dianne asked.

"I guess not," Loki replied.

"Good," Dianne said, leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek, "Because I want us to start our honeymoon on a good note."

"Oh, I would say it has," Loki said.

Dianne playfully slapped him on the shoulder, "Pervert."

* * *

Picking Steve up from the hotel at eight like they had agreed, he and Olyvia made their way back to Ashland, once again taking the highway. He didn't complain, just sucking it up and living with it since there wasn't anything he could do about it. They reached her apartment just past noon, and after dumping luggage by the couch, Olyvia went to the fridge, opening and closing it as if that would make food magically appear inside.

"Everything okay?" Steve asked.

"You ate all my food," Olyvia muttered, opening the door again to reveal only bad milk, a few sticks of butter and condiments inside.

Steve flushed red in embarrassment, "Sorry…you know how much I need to eat though."

"Yeah," Olyvia sighed, "Guess I need to get back in the car and go to the store. Ugh. I'm tired of driving."

"Here, I'll go to the store," Steve offered, "It's the least I can do for eating you out of house and home."

"Practically," Olyvia snorted, "But you don't have to."

"I want to," Steve said, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a kiss.

"Do you even know where the store is?"

Steve paused and Olyvia chuckled, "Didn't think so."

"I'll find it," Steve said, "Or you could give me directions. You can stay here and rest a little, put away your things. Play with your cat. Give her _some_ exercise, she needs it and she won't shut up until you pet her for at least ten minutes."

Olyvia laughed, and glanced down at Whisper who was rolling all over hers and Steve's feet, who was indeed begging for attention. Agreeing to do that, Olyvia gave Steve directions to the store, and after giving her a few more kisses, left to do the shopping. She listed off a few things she would definitely need, like new milk, tortillas and cheese, because she practically lived off of burritos and cereal. Once he was gone, she began working on unpacking her things, and making a laundry pile which would need to be done. Just about all her clothes went into the laundry, save a few which she hadn't worn during the trip so they went back into her dresser.

Tossing the dirty clothes into a basket, she debated on whether to wait for Steve to come back so she could get his wash done as well, but after a few minutes, decided she had a large enough load to take. Grabbing the detergent and her roll of quarters, she headed to the laundry facilities on her floor. She was thankful to find the washer was open, and went ahead and started it. She was dumping the last of her clothes inside when movement caught the corner of her eye. Glancing over her shoulder, she found it was a woman, who looked to be in her late 20's, with the longest blond hair she had ever seen, doing down past her hips. Not only was it long, it was thick, and Olyvia couldn't help but think what massive headaches that must cause. She was wearing rather nice business-like clothing to be wearing here at the apartment complex, slacks and a dark green long-sleeved blouse, but it was the glare on her face that was a little off-putting.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Olyvia asked, shutting the lid to the washer.

The woman didn't say anything in reply, instead raised a hand, the palm facing towards Olyvia. If it were some normal person, it would have looked odd, but this woman wasn't normal, Olyvia figured that out as her body was wracked with pain from something the woman was doing to her. She let out an agonized cry as it felt fire was raging through her veins, and she could feel herself growing weaker, so much so she crumpled down onto her knees. Pushing through the pain, Olyvia lifted her head to look at the woman, to find her business attire had changed to an Asgardian garb, being all too familiar with their look, and a blue orb of energy, which looked strangely like the Tesseract energy, was forming in the palm of her hand.

"I've been looking for you," the woman said darkly, "You have what I want."

Not about to let this woman continue doing whatever she was doing, or let her get what she wanted, Olyvia swung her legs around and knocked the woman off her feet. When she fell to the floor, the blue orb of energy flew away from her hand instead of just disappearing, and straight into Olyvia's chest. She was thrown backwards as her body was filled with an icy cold sensation, causing the hair on Olyvia's skin to stick straight up. It was so cold it hurt, the tips of her fingers feeling like they were being pricked with hundreds of needles. Landing hard on her back, she found it was a little difficult to breathe, and her world was starting to spin. The stranger was back up on her feet already, and raised her hands again to do whatever she had done before. Quickly getting up, Olyvia launched herself at the woman, punching her hard across the jaw, sending her into the wall. Grabbing the woman by her hair, Olyvia then slammed her head into the dry wall, breaking a hole in it. Olyvia suddenly found herself thrown backwards by some invisible force, stumbling out of the laundry room. Catching her footing, she looked back to the doorway, to find the woman standing there, and again Olyvia felt her body being drained of its energy.

Then something happened she wasn't expecting. Her hands seemed to move on their own than her having any conscious thought to raise them, and a jet of something white shot out from her hands. It hit the woman square in the chest, and she recoiled in pain as she let out a scream, before suddenly disappearing into thin air. Olyvia expected she was still around though, betting she could cloak herself like Loki had been able to, and turned around, running back to her room. She felt so weak from the short battle, and her vision began to blur as she made her way down the hall. She was so focused on getting back to her room, she didn't notice her hands, or the trail they were leaving from where they touched the walls. Reaching her door, she hastily opened it, and managed to shut and lock it behind her before stumbling into the living room where she then passed out.

* * *

When Steve arrived back at Olyvia's apartment, he wasn't too surprised to find the door locked, but when she didn't answer after two minutes of him knocking, he knew something was wrong. Then he noticed something else on the door, lighter spots in various places near the handle, but he wasn't sure what they could be or what caused it.

"Olyvia!" Steve shouted, pounding on the door a little harder, starting to really get worried, "Olyvia are you in there?"

"Geez! Will you people stop with the yelling?" he heard someone say behind him.

Steve turned around to see a middle aged man standing in the doorway to the apartment across from Olyvia's, a scowl etched into his features.

"What do you mean by that?" Steve asked.

"About twenty minutes ago there was some big fight going on, a lot of screaming, and it woke my wife up from her nap," the man replied sharply, "And now she's being a grouch, and I'm getting a little tired of all the shouting myself."

Hearing that there had been a fight, that only made Steve panic, and turning around, he kicked open Olyvia's door, causing the man to jump.

"What on earth? You can't just bust down doors kid," the man chastised, moving to Olyvia's doorway as Steve rushed inside, leaving the groceries in the hallway, "I'm calling the manager!"

Seeing Olyvia lying on the floor, Steve rushed over and dropped down beside her, placing a hand against her neck to find a pulse. The man paused seeing that something was indeed wrong, and craned his head around trying to see what was going on. Steve sighed in relief when he felt a pulse, but then what was wrong with Olyvia? He happened to touch her hand, and he paused a second before taking her hands into his. They felt ice cold. Unless she stuck her hands in the freezer, how was that even possible?

"Livy. Livy, please wake up," Steve said, trying to coax her awake by gently shaking her by her shoulder.

"Should I call 911?" the man at the doorway asked.

Steve pursed his lips. He wasn't even sure if the doctors would be able to help Olyvia if there was something…unnatural happening to her. But to be on the safe side.

"Please," Steve replied, keeping his gaze focused on Olyvia.

The man left the doorway, and Steve continued to try to rouse Olyvia awake. Not even Whisper's meowing and crawling all over her was waking her. After five minutes of holding her in his arms, he finally felt her stirring. Looking down at her face, her eyes blinked open, taking a few seconds to focus.

"What just happened?" Olyvia asked, "Steve, when did you get here?"

"A little over five minutes ago," Steve replied, "You weren't answering the door and then your neighbor mentioned something about hearing a fight."

"Oh God," Olyvia breathed, "Right…"

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, "What happened?"

"I…I'm really not sure," Olyvia replied, "Some…woman, a stranger, attacked me when I went to do the laundry. She…looked Asgardian and she…I don't know what she did to me, but I…I just passed out. My body couldn't handle it, whatever she did."

"Asgardian?" Steve asked.

Olyvia nodded, but didn't say anything else. Steve could hear the sirens wailing before cutting off once they were at their closest, and a few minutes later paramedics arrived in the room, along with the manager.

"What on earth happened here?" the manager asked, "Did he do something?"

The manager was pointing an accusing finger at Steve, who was taken aback at the accusation.

"He didn't do anything Mr. Yates," Olyvia said, "It was someone else."

"Well…I did break the door Mr. Yates," Steve admitted, "I'll pay for the repairs. I was just concerned for Olyvia."

Mr. Yates looked from Steve to the door, then back to Steve, "Broke it? You use steroids or something? Those are top quality doors!"

That Steve didn't realize, and he wasn't sure what to say.

"It was an adrenaline rush, I'm sure," Olyvia said as the paramedics checked her over, "If you're not sure what that is, Google it. They'll explain it to you."

Mr. Yates looked back over to the doors before he left, muttering to himself. Steve waited anxiously for the paramedics to tell him _something_, when they loaded Olyvia up on a stretcher, despite her protests.

"I feel fine now," Olyvia told them.

"We need to take you to the hospital to have you checked over with our machines," a medic replied, "You're too young to just be passing out for no reason."

Olyvia bit her lower lip. She sort of knew how it happened, but try explaining being attacked by an alien to these people. She doubted they'd believe it, and would most likely take her straight to a mental institution instead of the hospital. There was also the chance that the doctors wouldn't find anything because it was something otherworldly.

"Steve, I know you'd rather come to the hospital with me, but could you stay and keep an eye on the place?" Olyvia asked, "Since you uh…broke the door."

"I'm not leaving your side," Steve argued.

"I don't want someone sneaking in here while I'm gone," Olyvia retorted, the paramedics wheeling her out of the room, "So please?"

Steve sighed in frustration, clenching his jaw. He would so much rather go with her to be sure she was alright. Grabbing the groceries that were still sitting in the hallway, he quickly put the ones that needed to be in the refrigerator before grabbing Olyvia's keys again, and headed back outside. He swung the door back into place, though he knew it wouldn't latch or lock, but as long as it looked like it was shut, that would do. He didn't care what Olyvia said, he was going to go and make sure she was fine, though deep in his gut, he knew she wasn't.

* * *

Olyvia waited impatiently at the hospital to be released. None of the hospital's equipment would work on her, which baffled the doctors and nurses. It would either not work at all, or go on the fritz; they weren't sure what to do. She had been in the hospital room for nearly an hour now, after half an hour of breaking machines, and she wanted to go home. These people couldn't do anything for her, that much she knew. She had merely passed out from extreme exhaustion, though she wasn't exactly sure how it occurred so quickly. She never got tired so fast.

As she was pondering over this, the door to her room opened, and she snapped out of her thoughts, looking hopeful that it was a doctor to discharge her. She frowned when she saw it was Steve though.

"I thought I told you to stay at the apartment," Olyvia said.

"Your health is my main concern," Steve said, grabbing a chair and setting it down beside the bed and took Olyvia's hand in his. His face crumpled in worry. Her hand may not have been ice cold anymore, but it was much colder than it should be. Something was wrong, but he just…didn't know what it was, and it was killing him, "I think you should go see Dr. Banner again."

Olyvia groaned and rolled her eyes, "Steve, we don't even know where he is. He came for the wedding, and then he left. He didn't tell anyone where he was going. And even if we did know, I can't leave. I still have a month left of school, I can't just drop that and go."

Steve sighed heavily, thinking over what sort of compromise they could come to. He didn't want her dropping her classes, but he didn't want her health to get worse before they did something about it.

"Then after you finish this semester, we'll try to get in contact with Dr. Banner," Steve said.

"Okay, I can live with that," Olyvia agreed.

Bringing her hand up to his lips, he kissed her knuckles, before letting it drop back down onto the bed. Steve let his worries come to the forefront of his mind as he sat there, unable to help himself. He had come too close to losing Olyvia a few times before, he didn't want to add another to the list. Sitting there for nearly ten minutes, he heard the door open, and he groaned, knowing what was about to happen.

"What are you doing in here sir?" the female doctor asked as she stepped into the room, "My patient isn't to have visitors."

Olyvia looked over to Steve, a look of surprise on her face, "You snuck up here?"

"It was killing me not seeing you," Steve replied quietly, "And they wouldn't let me because I wasn't family so I…might have…"

Olyvia smiled endearingly at Steve, leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, "I love you, but you should go before you get into any more trouble."

"But—,"

"Yes, go," the doctor said sternly.

Steve sighed, and reluctantly got to his feet, "I'll be in the waiting room."

He left the room, and the doctor waited until the door shut behind him before walking over to the foot of the bed, looking down at the papers on her clipboard.

"Please tell me I can go," Olyvia said before the doctor had a chance to say anything.

She sighed irritably, tucking a short strand of her brunette locks behind an ear, "Though we were unable to run any tests and figure out what the issue is, nothing seems to work on you, and you function perfectly so…you are being discharged."

"Thank god," Olyvia breathed a sigh in relief.

"I just need you to sign these papers," the doctor added, handing over the clipboard and a pen.

Olyvia quickly signed her name on the highlighted areas, and handed it back to the doctor. She just wanted to get back home and forget this ever happened.

* * *

Arriving back at the apartment, Olyvia searched every room from top to bottom, corner to corner, in every nook and cranny before she pushed her desk in front of her doorway, that way no one could easily get in. And she most definitely did _not_ want that woman showing up again.

"Livy…you look a little…harried," Steve commented as Olyvia piled other heavy objects on top of the desk, "What's wrong?"

"I'm just being my paranoid self," Olyvia replied, returning to the doorway with her textbooks and dropped them right on top of everything, "I do _not_ want to run into that chick again."

Steve could tell Olyvia was really shaken by her encounter with this Asgardian looking woman, and expected her to go into panic mode any second now if she didn't take a moment to calm down and breathe. When she moved to the other side of the couch and began pushing, he knew he needed to step in.

"Livy, just stop for a moment," Steve said, grabbing her by her shoulders and turning her to him, "You need to calm down."

"I can't calm down," Olyvia said, starting to sound a little hysterical, "I need to be on alert, in case she comes back. I can't have my—."

Steve silenced her with his lips, pulling her close to him. Olyvia instantly relaxed, her frenzied nerves calming down and her heart slowed from its wild pace to a steadier tempo. When he broke away, Olyvia balled her hands into fists, bunching the fabric of Steve's shirt in them, as she did her best to keep her emotions in check. She was on the verge of tears at the moment.

"What happened Olyvia?" Steve asked in a whisper, "What is it that you're not telling me that has you so…scared? I've never seen you like this before."

That did it though, and Olyvia let out a choked sob as she tried to hold it back, tears spilling over and sliding down her cheeks, "You know how I told you she used some sort of magic on me?"

Steve nodded and Olyvia continued.

"She was…drawing…something from me," Olyvia said, "That's why I became so weak, it was as if she was pulling out my very life energy. But…there was something about the way it looked that…gives me pause. I'm scared about what might be happening to me Steve. I _know_ something is wrong with me, but I don't know what it is, but that…that woman seemed to know, and it's something she wants. She won't stop until she gets it either, I just know it, and I don't know if…I'll be able to defend myself from her, with her…doing that to me. I was almost…powerless against her."

Wrapping his arms around Olyvia, Steve pulled her to his chest, smoothing down her hair consolingly as she shed a few more tears.

"You know that I will never let anyone hurt you," Steve said.

"But you won't be around all the time," Olyvia went on, "You will be going back to Brooklyn in just a few days, and I'll be alone again."

After what happened today, Steve knew he wasn't going to be returning home just yet. He needed to stay with Olyvia.

"I'm not going to leave you," Steve said, "Definitely not after what happened. I'll be right here for you. That's a promise."

Olyvia pulled away slightly in order to look up at Steve, a sad smile on her face, "Thank you."

Steve kissed her on the forehead, lifting a hand to wipe the tears from her face. Hugging her again, he looked over to the door, and remembered something.

"Weren't you working on laundry before this all happened?"

"God dammit."

Going over to the door, Olyvia grabbed the desk and carried it back out of the way and looked around for her roll of quarters before she realized she left it in the laundry room. Hoping they were still there, she headed down there, to find her pile of laundry on the floor, someone obviously having gotten impatient and just tossed them out, and the quarters missing. At least her laundry detergent was still there. Growling in frustration, she picked up her clothes, and looked them over to find they needed to be washed _again_ from being thrown onto the dirty floor. Stomping back to her room, she grabbed her wallet and searched through for as many quarters as she could find, before stomping back to the laundry room and restarting her load. Today really just sucked.

On her way back to her room, she slowed down as she noticed something odd about the wall. Looking over to it, she saw a trail of water damage around elbow height, that went all the way down the wall, from the intersection that lead to the laundry room and elevator, all the way to the doorway that led to the next hallway, where her room was. Not only was there water damage, but the paint was curled up and peeling away from the wall, the edges of it black instead of the creamy tan color the paint was. Coming to a stop, Olyvia's brow furrowed as she lifted her hand, and placed it against the wall. Her mind flashed back to when she had drug herself back to her room. The water damage was the very path her hand drug across the wall.

Snapping her hand back, the pit in her stomach grew heavy and began twisting into knots. What was happening to her? There was no doubt that there was something wrong now. And she had to agree with Steve; she needed to talk with Bruce. But first, she needed to tell her family.


	4. Chapter 4

**My next update may take a little longer, seeing as how I am still in the process of writing it. This is what happens when I'm not ten chapters ahead in writing when I decide to put up the story. As of now, here's the next chapter!**

**harrylee94: It's not going to be such a sweet thing really soon. And yes, who else could it be, it's sort of obvious.**

**Murado: You're welcome.**

**Xandrea: Aw, shucks. Thanks! :D**

**kakirovich: What Loki fan wouldn't be jealous of Dianne? And as mentioned earlier, sort of obvious, I know.**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

The newlyweds arrived at the resort in the early afternoon, and once checking into their room, Dianne pleaded with Loki that they go on a short hike on one of the trails near the place. Being on their honeymoon, Loki had only one thing on his mind, but since his main priority was Dianne's happiness, he conceded, agreeing to do it. He did his best to not pout the entire walk, since Dianne was obviously enjoying herself, but…now that he had Dianne, he was completely, and utterly addicted to her; he wanted more.

"It's so beautiful here," Dianne said when they reached the ridge of the mountain the resort was nestled into, "I've only been to the very, very, _very_ west side of Montana, just past the Idaho border. Over here on the eastern side…it's so much more majestic. I could happily live here."

"And I could happily drag you back to the resort," Loki muttered.

"What was that?" Dianne asked, turning her attention to her husband.

"Nothing," Loki replied, "I'm just glad to see you happy."

Dianne smiled and leaned into Loki as placed her hands against his chest to help keep her balance as she kissed him, "Of course I'm happy, I'm with my husband."

Loki's lips curled up into a smile. He would never tire of hearing that word. When he went to pull her in to kiss her back though, Loki's hand found only air as Dianne pushed herself away from him and continued on the trail. With a frustrated growl, Loki let his hand drop back down to his side and followed after her. She was so asking for it when they got back to their room, teasing him like this.

Their "short" hike lasted almost two hours, and they ended up stopping at the lake near the resort where Dianne spent a good chunk of time skipping rocks and resting her legs, so by the time they returned to the resort it was close to dinnertime.

"Do you want to eat dinner here at the resort, or head back to town for some food?" Dianne asked as she brushed out her hair from having it in a braid during their hike.

"Doesn't this place offer…what is it called when they bring you the meal?"

"Room service?"

"Yes, that," Loki said, walking over to Dianne and wrapping his arms around her waist, "Do we really _have_ to leave the room?"

Dianne raised an eyebrow at Loki, "_Someone_ sounds desperate for attention."

"We're on our honeymoon," Loki retorted.

"And you didn't even know what that was before I told you," Dianne said, "Or did Stark give you a definition as well? Because that would explain this…desperation for other physical pursuits."

Loki sighed, dropping his head against Dianne's collarbone, "Dianne…is it hard to believe that I am just that attracted to you?"

"Maybe a little?" Dianne said uncertainly.

He sighed again. Dianne still didn't see herself the way he did. Perhaps he could change that eventually.

Turning his head, he pressed his lips against the base of her neck, moving his hands to the buttons on her green plaid shirt. He felt her shiver, and he thought he might be getting somewhere, when Dianne grabbed his hands after he loosened the first button, and took a step back.

"Loki…I'm hungry," Dianne said, an apologetic expression on her face.

"You…are an evil, evil woman," Loki said lowly.

Dianne gave a short laugh, "Evil? I don't know what you mean."

"After dinner, no more running away, no more excuses," Loki said, "Absolutely none."

"I make no promises," Dianne said before slipping away from his grasp and over to her luggage.

Loki glowered at her retreating form. Yes, she was indeed evil, and such a tease, and not even trying! Tonight was either going to be wonderful, or extremely painful.

* * *

They ended up choosing to eat at the Resort's restaurant, Loki voting for that choice because that meant a shorter trip back to the room, which Dianne only rolled her eyes at hearing his reason. It was a fancy restaurant of course, so Dianne searched through her luggage for the proper attire, and chose a v-neck, silk turquoise blouse paired with a pair of slacks. She wasn't a big fan of dresses so when she had to wear something fancy, she always went for the slacks and blouse. She left her hair down, but shoved a hair tie in her pocket in case her hair got too in the way of eating. Loki dressed in a light green button up shirt, which Dianne couldn't deny he looked extremely attractive in, and a pair of slacks. He always looked so good in those shirts, it was almost unfair.

As they waited for their dinner, Dianne spent the time she wasn't talking to Loki looking around at the place. It was lowly lit, for ambiance, and the walls were a dark mahogany color, which made the room feel that much darker. What she really noticed though was the looks Loki was receiving from other people around them. Or should she specifically say the gawking and stares he was getting from other women. Most looked dumbstruck, while a few looked like they were perhaps drooling a little, and even fewer who looked like they wanted to eat him. And a majority of the women were all dining with a male, who she would bet would be a husband or significant other. Dianne was grateful that Loki was hers, and, for some reason Dianne didn't quite understand, that he only had eyes for her.

"Everything alright Dianne?" Loki asked, seeing his wife was distracted by something.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah everything is fine," Dianne said, turning back to her husband, "It's just…"

"Just what?" Loki pressed.

"You are receiving a lot of stares from the women in here," Dianne said with a small smile.

Loki's brow furrowed and glanced around, to see a handful of women turn their heads away, looking back down at their table or plate, while a few continued to just stare.

"Ah," Loki muttered.

"Yeah…," Dianne sighed, "I think they're all wishing to be in my shoes right now."

"Which will never happen," Loki said, reaching across the table and taking Dianne's hands with his, "My heart belongs to you. For always."

Dianne smiled lovingly at her husband, "As is mine."

They sat that way for a few moments before they were forced to move apart to allow their server to place their plates down on the table. Loki then focused his attention on the food, since once it was gone, it was back to the room. Of course, Dianne was taking her time eating the meal, snickering at Loki when he glowered at her for doing that. He was done far before Dianne was, and waited rather impatiently for her to finish. Once she finally finished, Loki quickly paid for the meal before she could try getting any dessert, and the two linked their arms together as they made their way back to the room. Dianne could feel Loki almost pulling her along, and she just laughed to herself. She was quite surprised by this change in him, she didn't expect him to act like this.

Stepping into their suite, the door hadn't even shut all the way before Loki pulled Dianne into him, nearly crushing her in his fervor. Dianne blindly reached out for the door to make sure that it was indeed shut, only hitting air for a few seconds when she heard the sound of it latching. Loki wasn't giving Dianne any chances to slip away, or to breathe for that matter, as he started leading them over to the bed. He was about halfway through the buttons on her blouse when her cell phone, which was sitting on the end table by the bed, went off. Loki growled, and Dianne began pushing herself away, intending to answer it. She knew who it was by the specific ringtone.

"Don't you _dare_ answer that," Loki said threateningly, grabbing her and pulling her back to him.

"Okay," Dianne said, an amused smile on her face, "It's just my parents anyway. They can leave a message."

Ignoring the phone, he kissed Dianne again, hoisting her up and carried her the rest of the way to the bed. Loki sighed in relief when the phone finally stopped ringing, and resumed where he had left off with the buttons, only to be interrupted by the phone going off _again_ not five seconds later.

"They must really need to talk to me if they called again so soon," Dianne said.

"We are on our _honeymoon_," Loki said, "I bet it's your dad, doing this just for kicks, and _ruining_ my life."

"Your life isn't going to be ruined by waiting two minutes," Dianne rebutted laughingly, grabbing the phone before it could go back to voicemail, "Hello?"

Loki didn't care if she was on the phone, he wasn't going to let it hinder his progress, and went back to the buttons, undoing the last few as he distracted her with kisses on her neck.

"Mom, I'm on my honeymoon, I think you already know the answer to that question," Dianne replied to something her mother had said, "So what is the emergency?"

Since Loki couldn't overhear the conversation, he just continued with his pursuits, until Dianne spoke.

"Livy was attacked by someone she thought was Asgardian?"

Lifting his head abruptly, Loki looked at Dianne in confusion. What was this about Olyvia being attacked by an Asgardian?

"Could you explain a little better?" Dianne asked her mom, "I mean, why did she think it was an Asgardian?"

Loki tried his best to listen to what his mother-in-law was saying, but he couldn't catch any of it.

"The clothes then huh?" Dianne muttered, "I'm repeating for Loki, he's looking like he wants to know what is going on."

Dianne went quiet again as her mother spoke, when Loki saw the color drain from her face.

"A woman? It was a woman?" Dianne asked, "Did Livy give you a description?"

Loki's stomach grew heavy. He had a feeling he already knew what was happening. But…why would _she_ want Olyvia? She didn't even know her.

"I think I know who it might have been," Dianne said, "I'll call Livy and talk to her, ask how she's doing. She will be seeing Bruce though?"

Loki gawked at Dianne. Call Olyvia? _Now_? No! Not now! Later! Ugh, this night was just…turning out horribly.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know," Dianne said, wrapping up the phone call, "Love you too. Bye."

When she hung up, Loki snatched it from her hands and tossed it over to the seat across the room so she couldn't use it again.

"Loki!" Dianne cried out indignantly, "I was going to—."

Loki silenced her with his lips, pushing her back down onto the bed.

"You can call your sister later," Loki said, "Right now is time for just the two of us."

"But—," Dianne began, but Loki placed a finger against her lips.

"Please Dianne," Loki whispered, "Let us at least enjoy one night before whatever catastrophe is happening ruins our honeymoon."

Dianne sighed as she debated over what to do, lifting a hand and tracing the outline of his face with her fingers, then trailed them down his neck to his shirt, and using her other hand, undid the first button.

"Okay."

* * *

Dianne woke up before Loki the next morning, double checking that he was asleep by craning her head over her shoulder to look at his face. She could tell by his deep even breathing, and his eyes being closed that he was dead asleep. Looking over to the chair her phone was on, she pursed her lips as she looked back to Loki. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, so if she tried moving, he would definitely wake up, and she doubted she'd be able to get to her phone so she could call her sister before he stopped her escaping him. Loki seemed intent on keeping her all to himself.

The time here would be about an hour ahead than Oregon, and finding a clock in the room Dianne saw it was almost eight thirty. Olyvia would be awake by now, getting ready for school since it was Monday. Moving slowly, Dianne wriggled against Loki's grasp, trying to loosen his hold, but it was like iron. With a sigh, she decided on a different method. Though his hands were clasped together tightly, she was not pressed up against him, so she began slithering out from his arms. She only had her lower legs left to remove when Loki began stirring, and she froze. He shifted around for a few seconds before going still again. Crawling out the rest of the way, she grabbed the knee length green, of course, silk robe she was given at her bridal shower last month and wrapped it around her body before padding over to the chair and grabbed her phone. So she wouldn't disturb Loki, she headed further into the suite at the large sitting area, taking a seat on one of the sofas and called her sister.

Olyvia picked up after a few rings, sounding rather tired in her greeting. Dianne could tell she hadn't slept well that night.

"Hey, Mom told me what happened yesterday," Dianne said.

"Wait, she actually interrupted your honeymoon to tell you? I was going to wait until you got back," Olyvia said, "I was being considerate."

"Well, I'm sure Loki would have appreciated that, but Mom was really worried, she wanted me to know and see if I could shed any light on the situation," Dianne said, "Which…I might."

Olyvia was silent for a few seconds before saying, "How?"

"Well…could you describe this woman to me first?"

"Sure," Olyvia replied, "She was tall, green eyes, and had _long_ blond hair, and I mean long. Also very pretty. Angry as hell, but pretty. She had clothes that looked really similar to the Asgardian garb Thor, Loki and their friends wear. Or wore, in Loki's case. I'd do a better job just drawing it and having you look at it."

"Were the clothes green?"

"Yeah, and very low cut," Olyvia said, "Why is it so many people wear green?"

Dianne sighed, "It must be Amora then. But why would she go after you?"

"Amora?" Olyvia asked, "Isn't that the one you said Loki believed had disguised herself as him and tried getting the Tesseract. And worked for Thanos?"

"Yeah, that one," Dianne said, "This doesn't sound good if it is her then, but again, why would she go after you?"

"She said I had something she wanted," Olyvia replied, fear creeping into her voice, "And I was virtually powerless against her Dia. I…I was so scared. I thought I wasn't going to get away."

"Is Steve still there?"

"Yeah, he…don't tell Mom and Dad, but he's staying at my apartment to keep an eye on me," Olyvia replied.

"Good, I wouldn't want you to be alone," Dianne said, "And I promise I won't tell Mom and Dad. I know he is there purely for security reasons…right?"

Dianne could practically hear her sister roll her eyes, "Of course. You know how Steve is anyway, he'd throw himself in front of a bus before going anywhere _that_ far."

"I don't know, you two seemed rather clingy at the wedding," Dianne said.

"We were not being clingy!" Olyvia said indignantly, her voice squeaking slightly.

Dianne laughed, she was just glad she had managed to get her sister's mind off the attacker already, "Whatever helps you sleep better at night. No wait…I take that back, I don't know what might make you sleep better at night."

"I hate you sometimes," Olyvia growled.

"I love you too," Dianne replied, "I'll talk to you later, I'm assuming you're getting ready for school."

"Yeah…I need to find myself something to eat, Steve ate all the cereal already."

Dianne chuckled, "You're going to go broke just trying to keep enough food around for him."

"No kidding," Olyvia agreed, "And now I've made him feel bad…I need to go assure him he's fine and forgiven."

"You do that, talk to you later."

Olyvia said goodbye and hung up, so Dianne ended the call from her end, setting the phone down beside her. Almost instantly, Loki's arms snaked around her waist as he buried his face into her hair, startling her slightly.

"I didn't even hear you get up," Dianne said, turning her head to give him a kiss on the top of his head, "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"I don't mind waking up to the sound of my wife's laughter," Loki said, "Which I take as a good sign as to how Olyvia is doing."

Dianne sighed, "She's not okay. I've never heard her so scared. And I'm not surprised. I'm pretty sure it's Amora, but…what would she want with Livy?"

Loki moved around to sit beside his wife, Dianne seeing he had at least put on some pants now that he was up, "That's what I'm confused about as well. I could see her going after you, because you're with me, but Olyvia…it doesn't make sense."

"She said Amora wanted something from her," Dianne explained.

Loki still looked confused, "Not to take this the wrong way…but what does Olyvia have that Amora would ever want?"

Dianne shrugged, "I guess we'll figure that out."

Loki sighed, "So when are we leaving then?"

Cocking her head to the side, Dianne looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

"We're going to be leaving to see your sister…aren't we?" Loki asked, "I assumed that was the plan."

Dianne smiled lovingly at him as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders, running her fingers through the dark locks at the nape of his neck, "She has Steve with her, I'm confident she'll be just fine for the next two weeks. We'll make a brief side trip on our way home to see her, but we won't be leaving early for that. I want to enjoy my two weeks with just you."

Loki sighed in relief, and leaned in to give his wife a kiss, "I'm glad to hear it."

* * *

Olyvia felt slightly better after speaking with her sister the following morning. She was slightly able to forget about the incident yesterday from her sister's teasing. Now that she knew a name of who her attacker was, possibly, she had a feeling of dread within her, along with confusion. She couldn't think of anything she had, that this Amora would ever want. There was no use pondering over this constantly though, and Olyvia did her best to push it out from her thoughts as she prepared for her day.

The manager was having someone fix her door today while she would be at school, so that was one less thing she had to worry about. She wouldn't have to block her doorway while she was home anymore.

Steve went with her to the university, as she expected, and hung out in the library while she went to her classes. She was barely able to concentrate on the lessons though, being on high alert with everything going on around her so by the end of the day, she was very exhausted.

Leaving the science building after her chemistry lecture, the last class of the day, she was making her way to the library when a hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump and whirl around to see who it was. She caught herself just in time to avoid punching whoever it was, instead clenching her hands around the strap of her bag. Behind her was a young man, looking to be in his late twenties at least, relatively handsome, holding her chemistry book.

"Sorry if I startled you," he began, "But you dropped this."

Olyvia looked down to her arms, where she had wedged the book between her arm and her rib cage, to see that it was indeed gone.

"Oh, thank you," Olyvia said, taking the book back, "Losing this would have been…bad. Thank you again."

The man extended his hand out further, offering it for her to shake, "My name is James."

Olyvia hesitantly took the man's hand, giving it a quick shake, "Olyvia. And again, thank you James. You saved me from spending another two hundred dollars to replace it. So um…bye."

Shoving her book into her bag so she wouldn't risk dropping it again, she turned on her heel and fast walked the rest of the way to the library. She really was jumpy today, she was looking forward to getting back home.

Finding Steve in the library, she informed him she was ready to go, and he could tell she was stressed and nervous. She was twitching at every movement and sound.

"Is everything alright Olyvia?" Steve asked as he wrapped an arm around her as they walked out of the library, "You're more of a nervous wreck now than when we first got here."

"I'd just much rather be back home is all," Olyvia said, "Too many people here. And if Dianne is right about who this chick is, she can make herself look like anyone."

Olyvia froze and looked up at Steve, "It is you…right?"

Stopping as well, Steve turned to Olyvia and placed his other hand on her shoulder, "I doubt me just saying it will prove it, but it is."

Stepping up on her tip-toes, Olyvia gave him a kiss, "Okay, I believe it's you."

"Let's get you back to your place," Steve said, turning forward again, "Someone needs to get some rest."

"Definitely," Olyvia said wearily, "I couldn't sleep last night."

"And I'm not surprised," Steve said, "But try to get some today. You're not going to do yourself any favors by exhausting yourself."

"I'll try."

* * *

Despite how hard she did try, after lying in bed for three hours, Olyvia was still wide awake, twitching at every little sound. She tried telling herself it was just her overactive imagination, that nothing was in her room, or trying to get to her, until she heard something that sounded like fingernails scraping at the glass of her sliding glass door to the small balcony outside her room. Jumping up in her bed, she stared over at the door, her heart pounding loudly in her ears it nearly drowned out the noise. Very cautiously slipping out of bed, she inched her way over to the curtains covering the door, and upon reaching them went to pull them aside when a shadow jumped up from behind, the scratching noise starting up again. It was Whisper, the stupid cat was trying to attack a moth on the other side of the door, but the damage was already done, it startled Olyvia so bad, she screamed and jumped back onto her bed. Not two seconds later Steve came running into her room.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking around the room wildly for any intruders.

"It was just the cat," Olyvia said tersely, shooting a glare over at Whisper who was still jumping up to get at the moth, "Sorry for startling you."

"Startling me? You are more shaken up than I am," Steve said, moving over to the bed and sitting down next to her, "You want me to take her out into the living room with me?"

"She'll just end up coming back in here," Olyvia said, "And I don't exactly want to shut my door. Just another obstacle to get through if that chick gets in here somehow."

"Livy," Steve began, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and cradling her head in his hand as he rested his forehead against hers, "She won't hurt you, she'll never make it past me. I'll never let that happen."

"Steve…don't take this the wrong way, but she could easily kick your ass," Olyvia said.

"Never will happen," Steve said again, "I love you Olyvia, and I'll die first before I let anyone hurt you."

"You might regret saying that, because that just might happen," Olyvia said in barely a whisper, "And it would kill me if you ever got hurt…or killed, trying to protect me."

"Wouldn't you do the same though?" Steve asked.

Olyvia nodded slightly, given that she and Steve still had their foreheads pressed against each other, "I would. In a heartbeat."

"So you understand then how I feel," Steve said, "Now…get some sleep."

Olyvia's face crumpled as she forced back tears, "I can't. I don't know why but…it's killing me that I'm so scared! I feel that it's childish of me to feel this way. I've never been so scared before in my life! Well, I guess there were a few times, when I had nightmares about being eaten by a Great—."

Steve gently captured her lips with his to silence her, "You're rambling again."

"Sorry," Olyvia apologized, "It's a bad habit. Tends to happen when I'm nervous, or scared, or—."

"Livy," Steve said quietly, placing a finger over her lips.

"Sorry," she apologized again.

Steve placed a quick kiss on her forehead as he started to get to his feet, "Try to get some sleep."

Olyvia tightened her grip on his forearms, keeping him from moving away, "Please don't go. I-I'm too scared to be alone."

"I really shouldn't Livy," Steve said, "And you know why."

"I know, you don't want to be tempted to do anything, but I just need you to be here for me, please," Olyvia begged, looking up into his watery blue eyes.

Sitting back down beside her, he wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head in the crook of his neck and slipped her arms around him.

"Then I'll stay."

* * *

Steve was rudely awakened from his deep, peaceful sleep by cat paws on his face, and bad cat breath assaulting his senses, accompanied an annoying yowl. Blinking his eyes open, Steve shoved Whisper off of him, who made an odd squawk as she was unceremoniously removed from her perch. Looking around, Steve saw Olyvia had also woken up, smiling endearingly up at him.

"Good morning," she said sleepily.

"Good morning," Steve replied, giving her a kiss on her forehead, "I hope you slept well."

"Very well," Olyvia replied, "I don't think I've slept better in my life. Thank you."  
Steve was in complete agreement to that, and he thought he had slept well his first night here out on her couch.

"You're welcome. And I see why you don't necessarily need an alarm clock," Steve said as Whisper came running back over, climbing over his stomach and onto Olyvia, walking up to her shoulder and meowed loudly, sounding rather demanding about something.

Olyvia chuckled, "Yeah. She's telling me it's time to get her pettings, that I am here only to provide her attention and love."

"Well, it's too bad, because I'm here and I require that first," Steve replied, pulling her up close, pushing Whisper off in the proccess, as he buried his face into her hair.

Craning her head back, Olyvia kissed him, wriggling her arms around him so she could hold him as well. Steve didn't mind the romantic gesture, but his mind was quickly wandering to certain things as the moment became perhaps a little too intimate. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on the perspective, the cat served as an interruption, starting up again with the yowling as she crawled back on them and head-butted their faces, trying to get in-between them. With an annoyed sigh, Olyvia pulled away and pushed the cat off.

"I think that is my cue to go," Steve said, pulling his arms back so he wasn't tempted to keep going.

Olyvia groaned disgruntledly, "Do you have to?"

"Livy, it's just safer if I do," Steve replied, scooting away from her.

"I understand," Olyvia said with a sigh, "Oh the tough life of being a good kid."

"It's worth it in the end, I'm sure," Steve said as he got up, bending back down to give Olyvia another kiss, "Now get ready for school."

"Yes Mom," Olyvia said, rolling her eyes.

Steve chuckled, "Now that sounds familiar."

"I thought it would."

"Just get ready. I'll start making some breakfast."

Olyvia smiled, "'Kay, I love you."

Smiling as well, Steve stepped back over to her to give her another kiss, "I love you too."

* * *

While Olyvia was in class, Steve stopped outside of the library before heading in to make a phone call. He had meant to do this yesterday, but he was too busy worrying over other things to get around to it. Opening up his cell phone, he spent a few minutes looking for the proper number in his phone and figure out how to call it. With Olyvia's number, he had just memorized it so he could just dial it to call, he didn't know how to call from his contact list. But he finally figured it out and held the phone up to his ear.

"Capsicle! Now what reason would you have to call me?" Stark asked when he picked up the call.

"How did you know it was me?" Steve asked in surprise.

"It's something called Caller I.D," Stark replied, "But really, you and I don't get along, so I doubt this is a social call. What's wrong? Got yourself frozen again? Need some love advice?"

Steve's face turned red, "You are the last person I'd go to for _that_."

"But I'm so knowledgeable in that area."

Steve dropped his head into a hand, knowing what sort of "love" Stark was referring to now. That man really gave him the worst headaches, and one was already sprouting.

"It's about Olyvia," Steve said.

"So love advice," Stark quipped, "I'm sure she'll understand if you can't get it up because you're so old."

Steve so wanted to punch Stark for that comment. He really needed to keep a tally of how many times Stark did that so next time he saw him he could do just that.

"Stark…you are the most crude, foul mouthed man I have ever met!"

"That must be the problem then," Stark said, "It's okay, performance issues happen, you can talk about it."

"Stark! That is not it!" Steve shouted, making a few passing students look over at him.

"No?"

"No!" Steve replied indignantly, "Something is wrong with Olyvia, she really should see Dr. Banner again. I was hoping you knew where he was."

"Oh, Bruce is staying here at Stark Tower," Stark replied, "Well, it's sort of the Avengers' Tower now, but I digress. What's wrong with Livy? Don't tell me she's starting to turn green too."

"No, she's not, but…we're not sure what's wrong with her," Steve replied, "I've noticed she's become…cold."

"What'd you do wrong?"

"I meant temperature-wise Stark," Steve growled.

"You mean she's becoming physically cold?"

"Yes, and not seeming affected by it," Steve replied, "And then…there was an incident the other day that shook her up quite a bit. Someone attacked her at her apartment while I was out, she believes her name is Amora, an Asgardian."

"And Livy didn't kick her ass?"

"She told me she was practically powerless against her, due to something the woman did," Steve explained, "Which is also another reason she wants to see Bruce. She's scared about something Stark, she won't tell me outright what it is. I have a really bad feeling about what is going on with her."

"Then why aren't you here right now?"

"Because Livy insisted on finishing the semester."

"That's another month!" Stark exclaimed, "If she really has a condition, she shouldn't let it wait a month before getting it checked out."

"I tried getting her to change her mind, but she won't," Steve said, "We'll see you and Banner in June."

"Wait, wait, wait! There's something I need you to do for me," Stark said before Steve could get in his goodbye and hang up.

Steve rolled his eyes, "What?"

"Firstly, you _are_ planning on asking Livy to marry you right?"

Steve's heart jumped up into his throat as his face darkened to a beet red, "W-w-what makes you think I-I'm planning that?"

"Just an observation," Stark said, "Plus, with Dianne's wedding going on, I'm sure you thought about it."

"Well, what about _you_?" Steve returned the question, "Have you been thinking about it? With Pepper?"

Stark was silent for a few moments, which was enough of an answer for Steve.

"You seemed like the type to avoid commitment to me," Steve said, "So not a surprise. Now what was it you wanted from me?"

"If you're going to propose, can you do it within a month?" Stark asked.

Steve's brow furrowed in confusion, "And why would I do that for you?"

"I have five hundred bucks on the line," Stark said.

"I am not going to do that so you can keep five hundred bucks Stark," Steve growled, "Livy is stressed enough as it is with everything that is going on now _and_ her schooling."

"I'll _get_ five hundred bucks though!" Stark said, "But I've also confirmed that you're thinking about it! Ha! So there!"

Steve started silently fuming. Stark just…urrgh! He drove him insane!

"I'm hanging up now, goodbye Stark."

"A month! You really sh—."

Steve hung up before he could hear the rest of what Stark was going to say. Slipping his phone into his pocket, Steve stood there for a few seconds thinking over the conversation. If something was wrong with Olyvia…and there was the possibility of losing her, he didn't want to wait too long to taking the first step in starting a life together. He knew it would still be better though if he wait until she finished the semester so she wouldn't have something else to stress over, _then_ he would propose. It also gave him five weeks to figure out what to do and how to do it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Finally finished this chapter yesterday while I was home sick and after napping for three hours. I apologize if there are any errors, my brain doesn't like functioning while sick. Anyway, now that I have internet, it can be put up! Yay!**

**harrylee94: hmmmm…eh, you'll see what's happening to Olyvia within the next few chapters. And Loki does just love Dianne that much, but no he's not telekinetic. You are the only one who pointed out James too, so Kudos to you, but you won't find out who he is until waaaaaaay later. *smiles evilly* I do have plans for him though.**

**kakirovich: I'm too lazy to have anything happen to Dianne and Loki during the honeymoon. And it turns out I **_**might**_** actually put more Loki into this story than originally planned. Stuff just happens like that.**

**Xandrea: XD Thank you so much! Makes me smile seeing that! Thank you, thank you!**

**Crimson TigerLily: Yeah, he is a bit. I just have so much trouble writing him though, I really do. I'll try my best to work on his personality. (I do actually mention him being a prankster this chapter though)**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

The two weeks had just flown by, and Dianne was a little disheartened to say goodbye to Montana. She and Loki had an absolutely wonderful stay, and she actually managed to get out and do fun activities, such as canoeing, and horseback riding, quite a few times. She practically had to negotiate with Loki in order to be let out of the room to do anything though. Honestly, it seemed that was all he wanted now, so Dianne was also a little glad to be leaving, though she doubted Loki would stop being needy once they returned home. At least it gave him less reason to be that way. She wouldn't have been surprised if Stark did tell Loki his definition of the word honeymoon, because he sure had _that_ mindset of Stark the whole two weeks.

Packing up their things and checking out of the room, they hopped into their rental and drove to the airport.

"Olyvia knows we're coming?" Loki asked as they walked towards the airport after dropping off the rental.

Dianne nodded, "She does. I double checked this morning when I called her. She sounded a lot better. Definitely not freaking out anymore."

"I'm surprised that Amora hasn't tried again," Loki said.

"If it is Amora."

"Who else could it possibly be?" Loki rebutted.

Dianne shrugged, "I don't know. There are more Asgardian women then just her and Sif right?"

Loki sighed, "Yes, but none have a reason to come after your sister."

"So you know why Amora is after her then?"

"No, but…she has reason to come after all of us," Loki said, "Who's to say she just decided to start with Olyvia?"

"She doesn't even know who she is!"

"Does she?" Loki questioned, "We don't know what she does, so she possibly could."

"I guess you do have a point," Dianne said glumly, "So we just have to see what happens then."

"That's all we ever are able to do."

* * *

Around four hours later, Dianne and Loki found themselves in Ashland, and after waiting forever for their luggage, made their way out front where Olyvia should be waiting for them. Dianne reached for her phone as she looked around to see if she could spot Olyvia, since she figured she'd need to call her to find her, when she recognized the Camry that pulled up to the curb. She lightly touched Loki on the arm to inform him their ride was here, and the two walked over.

"Hello Mrs. Odinson!" Olyvia said jovially once she rolled down the passenger window, of which Steve was sitting next to, "How was your trip?"

"It was great," Dianne replied, unable to smile at being called Mrs. Odinson, "Now could you pop the trunk?"

She heard a small pop sound, telling her it was done, and she and Loki placed their luggage in the trunk before taking their seats in the back.

"So how have you been Steve?" Dianne asked as they pulled back into the traffic.

"I've been doing well," Steve replied with a smile, and Dianne noted that his gaze went to Olyvia. Despite the circumstances that brought it about, she was sure Steve was glad to be spending all this time with Olyvia, "How about you?"

"Pretty good," Dianne replied.

"Now Dia, am I right in assuming that you and Loki will be staying the night?" Olyvia asked.

"Yeah, since it's so late and our flight home is tomorrow anyway," Dianne said, "We can get a hotel for tonight if you don't have the room at your place."

"Oh, I'm sure I can squeeze you in," Olyvia said, "Unless you _want_ your privacy."

"Uh…well, you have Steve staying with you so, I think we'll get a hotel later," Dianne said, knowing what her sister was insinuating and held back the urge to whack her on the back of the head.

"Sounds good to me," Olyvia said.

The four spoke idly about random topics and life in general until they arrived at the apartment complex. When they entered the apartment, Whisper made a beeline to Dianne, meowing and yowling incessantly, acting as if she was super happy to see her and that she should pet her right now.

"My god, what have you been feeding your cat?" Dianne asked, scooping up the ball of fat and fluff, "She's huge!"

Olyvia huffed loudly, "She's free fed as she always has been. She just doesn't get the same amount of exercise since she doesn't have two cats to chase around."

"Do you play with her?"

"Yes," Olyvia replied indignantly.

Dianne looked over to Steve for him to verify that.

"She does," Steve said, "Everyday, for at _least_ fifteen minutes. It gets pretty crazy. It's…kind of scary to watch."

Olyvia snickered, "I actually had Steve hiding in the corner the other day."

Dianne raised a quizzical eyebrow, "What were you doing?"

"She was trying to get Whisper to attack me, that's what," Steve said, shooting a glare at Olyvia, who only smiled innocently back at him.

"Attack you? Never," Olyvia said, "Scare you into thinking that…maybe. You just made the funniest faces."

"I don't mean to ruin the moment here, but we did come for a reason," Loki interrupted.

Olyvia's bright demeanor instantly vanished, her countenance becoming grim, "Right."

Dianne shot a glare at Loki, who returned the motion with a look asking what exactly he did wrong. She rolled her eyes before looking back to her sister.

"We don't have to talk about it yet if you don't want to," Dianne said, "We can visit a little longer."

"No, it's okay," Olyvia said, "I've drawn a picture of the girl so you can verify whether it's this Amora chick or what. Just give me a second to grab it."

She headed into her room, and the others took a seat on the couch as they waited for her to come back. She wasn't gone long, not even a minute, before she returned and handed a piece of computer paper to Dianne before squeezing herself in-between Steve and Dianne on the couch. Steve wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him, and kissed her on the temple in a consoling gesture. Olyvia smiled sadly up at him. She really was grateful that he was here for her during this time.

Seeing the drawing, Dianne grimaced, and Loki sighed heavily.

"It's Amora," Dianne said, handing the paper back to Olyvia, "What I'm confused about though is…why you?"

Olyvia shrugged, "That's what I'd like to know."

They were all silent as they thought over the current dilemma. They were all at a loss as to what could possibly be going through Amora's mind. Dianne handed the paper back to Olyvia, who glared at the drawing. She really hated this lady already. She was about to crumple it in her hands when she glanced over to Whisper.

"Whisper, here, eat the paper!" Olyvia coaxed the cat, wiggling it around to catch the cat's attention, "Eat the evil lady's face!"

Dianne snickered as Whisper's eyes became black, watching the paper, before pouncing it as Olyvia let it fall to the floor. It made Olyvia very happy to see Whisper clawing up the paper, chewing and doing her best to rip it. Whisper became bored with it after a few minutes though, and Olyvia picked up the now ratty paper.

"Anyone happen to have a match?" Olyvia asked, "Or a lighter?"

"Uh…no," Dianne said, looking at the other two. Loki was just confused about what she was asking about, having no clue what those items were, while Steve just shook his head.

"Dang," Olyvia muttered, "Then I guess scissors will be the next best thing."

Grabbing a pair from her desk, Olyvia proceeded to make Amora into confetti, over the trash can of course so she wouldn't make a mess on the floor. When she finished, Olyvia placed the scissors on the counter, and placed her hands on her hips with a content sigh.

"Well that was satisfying."

* * *

Olyvia and Dianne spent hours talking about whatever, while Steve and Loki chipped in with conversation occasionally. The sisters were pretty much caught up with each other's lives by the time Olyvia transported them to a hotel of their choice for them to stay.

"I'm worried Loki," Dianne confessed once they reached their room.

"About?"

"Olyvia…Amora," Dianne replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "I can…_feel_ something is wrong with Olyvia. It's weird, it's not like the gut feeling you get when something is wrong, I can somehow…sense something is different with her. Did…you feel that at all?"

Loki shook his head, taking a seat next to her, "I didn't. Maybe it's because she's your sister though."

Dianne pursed her lips as her brow furrowed, "No…I know it wasn't that. I don't how to describe it exactly, but I just knew."

Dianne squeezed her eyes shut as tears began to well up in her eyes, and seeing she was close to crying, Loki wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

"I'm afraid for her Loki," Dianne said, "I don't want to lose her."

"You won't," Loki whispered, "She'll be just fine."

"I wish I could believe that."

Loki wished he could believe it too, because he knew Amora, and he knew what she was capable of, what lengths she was willing to go to get what she wanted. He was really worried for Olyvia because of that knowledge.

* * *

Loki and Dianne went out to breakfast the next morning with Olyvia and Steve, to have one last get-together before it was off to the airport again. Dianne was happy to be home finally so she could really start settling in. She still had boxes of belongings to put away, and she was actually looking forward to putting them out. So the next few weeks she spent doing just that, making the home hers as well. Part of that process was getting her cat from her parents, so that Rosemary's cat had full roam of the house now. Nelly was definitely something Loki would have to get used to, not being fond of cats in general, he knew he would have to put up with her because Dianne loved her so much. Plus, he had to get used to the idea of sharing Dianne with the cat.

The couple fell into a routine not long into their life together. Dianne knew Loki would need to find some hobbies lest he drive himself crazy with nothing to do, and she knew he held no desire for the video games that she indulged in from time to time so she tried to think of some things she could suggest to him he could possibly do. One of the things they did together was training. Every afternoon, they would spend half an hour doing that. As for something for just Loki to do, he seemed content just reading and doing little things around the house. And though he might have had his powers taken away, Loki still liked pulling pranks, all of which were on Dianne since she was the only one there. They were nothing mean of course, just something to tease or startle her. Most of the time though, he spent doing things to make her happy so he could see that smile of hers.

Loki hadn't particularly noticed anything different with him, until it became blatantly obvious one day. He and Dianne had just finished lunch when Dianne's phone began ringing, so he went ahead and took her dishes into the kitchen. He overheard just the start of Dianne's conversation, finding out it was Olyvia calling her, before he was too far away to listen. He went to rinse off the plates before putting them in the dishwasher, and he was working on the last one when the water suddenly began to form into ice around his hand and the plate. Eyes widening in horror, Loki quickly turned off the water in hopes that it would stop, but the ice continued to grow outward for quite a few seconds before finally stopping. Now his hand was completely encased in a huge ice cube that took up over half of the sink basin. What was weird was that he didn't feel the cold of the ice, as if it just wasn't there. But it was, and he was stuck. Tugging on his arm, he tried to move or break free of the ice, but neither the ice nor his hand would budge.

"Um…Dianne!" Loki shouted.

He waited a few seconds to see if his wife would arrive, which she didn't, before calling for her again.

"Dianne!"

Again, she didn't show up, and Loki wanted to get out of his icy manacle and he needed her help for that, because he was at a loss of what to do to free himself.

"DIANNE!" Loki shouted again, more desperately, some irritation noticeable in his voice. Honestly, why wouldn't the woman come when he first called for her? He was sure he sounded quite desperate for help the first time.

He could hear her stomping over before he even saw her, which wasn't a good sign. Maybe he sounded a little too upset with her on that last one. She entered the kitchen with a scowl on her face, holding the phone a few inches away from her face so she wouldn't be talking directly into it when speaking to him.

"What?" she snapped, "I'm trying to talk to my sister, Loki."

Loki merely pointed to the sink, since that better explained his reasons than him trying to say what happened. Dianne's brow furrowed and she walked closer, before coming to a stop, her eyes growing to the size of dinner plates.

"Uh…Livy, is it alright if I call you back?" Dianne asked, "Loki sort of…froze himself to the sink."

Dianne quickly said her goodbyes and hung up, shoving her phone into her pocket.

"What happened?" Dianne asked.

Loki shrugged, "No idea. The water just started turning to ice. I have a theory as to _why_, but not how."

"Then uh…why?" Dianne asked.

"My father told me when he took my powers, that since I am Jotun, I may still retain those powers," Loki said, "Which would explain…this. I'm just curious as to why they only now surfaced."

"Maybe it needed time," Dianne said, "So uh…let's see, how are we going to get you out of this?"

"Whatever you do, be careful of my hand," Loki said, "I'd like to keep that."

Dianne strummed her fingers against her lips as she thought for a few minutes before she turned around and began heading out of the kitchen, "I'm going to try to find a hammer."

Loki grimaced. Hammer, great. At least that had no chance of cutting off his hand, just bruising it. As long as she was careful, that shouldn't happen. Oh he hoped she would be careful.

* * *

Having found a hammer, Dianne spent a good fifteen minutes chipping away the ice to free her husband. The ice was surprisingly hard, and was noticeably different than normal ice. How, Dianne didn't know, but it just was. Loki was glad to take his whole hand away from the experience, but the same couldn't be said for the plate. It, unfortunately, broke into a handful of different pieces due to the hammer clipping it. Luckily, Loki didn't cut himself on one of the shards.

"And there goes one of our plates," Dianne muttered as she threw away the pieces, "At least it wasn't the good china. Note to self, don't ever give Loki the china to wash, he will just freeze himself again and I will end up breaking it."

"Sorry," Loki muttered an apology.

Dianne walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around his waist in a reassuring hug, "It's okay, it wasn't your fault."

"If you say so."

"I say so," Dianne replied, leaning in and giving him a kiss, "Now, just don't freeze yourself to me, alright?"

"I'll try."

Giving him another kiss, Dianne slipped away to call her sister back. Once she was gone, Loki looked down at his hands. How did that happen? He never had been able to use Jotun powers before. He hoped they wouldn't continue to spontaneously happen, fusing him to whatever he may be nearby. He needed to figure out how to fix or control this problem.

* * *

"So, something is wrong with Loki now," Olyvia said to Steve as she hung up her phone, placing it down onto the desk as she walked over to the couch where Steve was sitting, reading a book.

"What happened?" Steve asked worriedly.

"He froze himself to the sink," Olyvia said, and Steve looked at her in confusion, "Yeah, I know. Weird. Dianne said it was possibly because of the Jotun in him, or something like that."

"Hmm…," Steve muttered pensively.

"So, yay, I'm not the only one who is cursed," Olyvia said lightheartedly as she took a seat next to him.

Steve looked at her disapprovingly, "You're not cursed Livy."

Olyvia scoffed, "Right, that's why all the bad stuff has happened to me."

"That's not true," Steve argued.

"Who was it who rolled their car?" Olyvia asked.

Steve paused a moment before replying, "You…"

"And who was it who drowned, and then was skewered by a spear?"

"You, but—."

"_And_ who then got incredibly sick, making being injured even _worse_?"

"Livy, you're—."

"Who also got pummeled by Thanos a few times, might I add, and _now_ I—."

Steve interrupted her by placing a hand over her mouth, and Olyvia let out a muffled, indignant cry of surprise.

"Olyvia, though you may have been hurt, and often, so have the rest of us, you're not cursed."

Olyvia muttered something against his hand, but since it was there whatever she said was unintelligible. Steve carefully removed his hand to allow her to speak, as long as she didn't start complaining again.

"So far, I've received the biggest beatings," Olyvia said, "I'd like a break, for once, to just…live a normal life."

"You know your life will never be normal, just because of who you are," Steve replied.

"Then as normal as it can get with me being a human tank," Olyvia said as she cuddled up next to Steve, "Like going to school, which I'm doing, get a _real_ job, not one where there is the possibility of me never returning home from, go out with friends to see movies, or have a girls night. I don't really have any friends here because I'm afraid to get anyone involved in the situation I'm in. I have acquaintances, but that's it. I feel so…lonely…in my 'specialness'."

"You'll always have me," Steve said.

Olyvia smiled sadly up at him, "Which is nice, but I can't exactly talk girly stuff with you, or talk about anything within the last twenty years, because you won't get it. Don't get me wrong, I love you and I love being with you, but sometimes, a girl needs another girl to talk to."

"Makes sense I guess," Steve said.

"Which is why I call Dianne so much," Olyvia said, "Hmm…maybe to change things up I should call Kristie or Midget next time I need girl talk."

Steve chuckled, and Olyvia lifted her gaze to look up at his face, "What?"

"Oh, I just find it funny you refer to Rosemary more often as Midget, than her real name," Steve said.

"It practically is her name now," Olyvia replied, "She responds to it better than Rosemary."

"Now that is just sad," Steve said laughingly, "How many years have you called her that then for it to stick?"

Olyvia pursed her lips, then began making all sorts of odd faces as she thought, replying nearly a minute later, "Ten? Wait, she's seventeen, my god, when did that happen? Anyway, twelve years so yeah, it stuck."

"I'm curious then, what sort of nicknames did your sisters bequeath you?" Steve asked.

Olyvia looked around the room, anywhere but Steve, too embarrassed to speak of it.

"Oh, now you don't want to talk."

"You already know one of my nicknames," Olyvia rebutted, "Klutz remember?"

"That's it then?" Steve asked doubtfully.

"Well…there may have been…others, but they didn't stick so it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't count, so come on, spill."

Olyvia shook her head, "No, I don't have to tell you anything Mr. Spangle Pants."

"Spangle Pants? Lovely, not you too," Steve groaned.

"Stark does come up with some funny names for you."

"I do recall he came up with a few for you," Steve said, "She-hulk."

"Oh no, you did _not_ just call me that."

"Then take back the Spangle comment," Steve bartered.

"You are treading dangerous ground here buddy," Olyvia threatened, leaning away from him in order to poke him in the chest, "So _you_ better take back the hulk comment."

Steve paused for a moment, looking as if he was pondering over something for a moment, "You know…I do believe I actually have the upper hand here."

"Oh really?" Olyvia asked dubiously, crossing her arms, "How so?"

She was instantly regretting asking that when Steve began tickling her. In mere seconds she was on her back on the couch, arms and legs flailing about as she screamed, trying to get him to stop.

"Not fair!" Olyvia managed to shout through her screaming, "Tickling is _not_ fair! You're cheating! Need I remind you how dangerous this is too?"

"Do you take it back?" Steve asked.

"No! Never!" Olyvia rebutted, trying her best to not squeak out her answers, but it wasn't quite working, her voice pitched quite often when being tickled, "I will not go down without a fight!"

Steve then burrowed his face against her neck, and Olyvia let out an ear piercing shriek as he blew against it. Hands flailing, her wrist bone clipped him rather hard on the cheekbone before she rolled off the couch, landing with a thud on the floor. Rolling out of arms reach, Olyvia sat up on her knees and looked over to Steve, who was shaking his head as if to clear the stars from his eyes.

"I warned you," Olyvia said, "I've told you before it's dangerous tickling me. I have no control over my limbs, they just flail about wildly and hit things."

"I know, I remembered," Steve said, "Though I may have forgotten a few other things. Not that Spangle Pants comment though."

Olyvia shuffled closer on her knees to where she was right in front of Steve, "I'm sorry, are you okay? You know I wouldn't ever hit you like that on purpose. I'm sorry Steve."

"I know Livy," Steve replied, "It hardly hurts anymore. You don't need to apologize."

"Do you forgive me?" Olyvia asked, looking up at him with apologetic eyes.

"Do you take back the Spangle Pants comment?"

"Do you take back the She-hulk jab?" Olyvia rebutted.

Steve smiled, and bent down to place a kiss on Olyvia's forehead, "Of course."

"Then I do take back the Stark-like comment," Olyvia replied.

"Then you are forgiven," Steve said.

"Yay!" Olyvia said happily.

Steve chuckled, and leaned in to kiss her again, this time on the lips, "I love you."

Olyvia smiled widely as she gazed into his water-blue eyes, "I love you too."

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Loki ended up freezing himself to quite a few objects around the house, in which Dianne would have to figure out how to free him without causing damage to him, or what he was frozen too. And they didn't even involve water the following dozen times, except the one time in the shower which ended up breaking the whole shower system, along with part of the plumbing. Dianne could only stare in horror at her bathroom after Loki sheepishly approached her and told her the room may look like an icy cavern. Which it did, at least in the shower area. Dianne wasn't looking forward to when it melted.

After that incident, Loki and Dianne tried their hardest to figure out what may be triggering Loki's freezing abilities, if it was triggered at all, or if it was just happening at random, which would absolutely suck for them, not knowing when it would happen and how to avoid them. For the week that they started keeping track of the incidences, and what preceded them, they found no correlations to activities before.

"Great, meaning it's random," Dianne sighed, "Well that is just…peachy."

"My only option now is to try to control it," Loki said, "Don't know how I'm going to do it but…I have to try."

"I'm sure the house would appreciate it," Dianne said, and when Loki shot a disapproving look at her, added, "As would I."

Loki sighed heavily, letting his head drop towards his chest, "And here I thought life would start being simpler."

"It has…a little…right?"

"Doesn't feel like it."

Dianne strummed her fingers against her leg as she pondered over a few things. It was a few minutes later before she spoke.

"Would you like to go see Dr. Banner too?" Dianne asked, "See if he could shed any scientific light on the situation?"

"I doubt he could help," Loki replied, "But if matters get worse, if I'm unable to handle the situation, then we can try that. If we can even get a hold of him."

"I can live with that," Dianne said, "Now…would you like me to make some juice for dinner tonight, or do you want to try?"

Loki took in a deep breath as he got up to his feet, as if unsure of what he should do, "I'll try. No use trying to run from this."

"I'll get din—," Dianne began, before her phone started ringing, cutting her off, "It's Livy, I should probably answer that."

Loki nodded, and headed into the kitchen, while Dianne answered her phone, slowly heading that way as well.

"Hello sibling," Dianne greeted.

"Hi, sorry if I'm calling at a bad time," Olyvia replied.

"No, you're fine," Dianne replied, "I was just going to start dinner was all."

"Ah, well I have a favor to ask of you that pertains to that subject," Olyvia began.

"Let me guess, you lost your recipe book again," Dianne muttered, stopping in the kitchen doorway and leaning against it.

"It's not me! I swear it grows legs and hides from me," Olyvia exclaimed.

Pushing herself off, Dianne headed over to where she kept her recipe books, "What do you need?"

"I just need the temperature and the cooking time for meatloaf," Olyvia replied, "I can never remember and I couldn't get a hold of mom! You're my last hope!"

"Oh geez…uh…hold on let me find it."

Since Dianne was preoccupied searching for the recipe, she didn't see behind her Loki desperately trying to set down the pitcher he was holding as ice began to form around his hand. He was too late though, his hand freezing to the handle. Concentrating really hard, he tried to stop it or at least slow it. The ice had just started creeping to the top of the pitcher at a sharp looking point when it stopped. He did it! He really did it! Except now the juice inside was completely frozen too, his hand was now stuck, and he couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. Dianne was still looking for the recipe as Loki began tugging against the pitcher while holding it in his other arm, trying to break free of the ice. He was going to try to get it off before she noticed, but it was as unyielding as stone.

"Here it is!" Dianne exclaimed, and proceeded to give Olyvia the information she needed.

"Thanks Dia!" Olyvia said in gratitude, "How are things with Loki going by the way?"

Dianne glanced over her shoulder and paled seeing Loki had frozen himself to something, again.

"Uh…we are still having the ice issues," Dianne muttered, turning back around so she wasn't facing him anymore. She was a little nervous to see how this would end.

"Well that sucks."

"So uh…how is school going for you?" Dianne asked to change the subject.

Olyvia groaned, "I cannot _wait_ for finals to be over! I just have two finals left! Two! And then I'm freeeeeeeee!"

Loki was still trying to remove the pitcher, when suddenly he lost his hold on it, and his hand went flying out. From the momentum, the iced juice inside slipped out from been partially melted from the heat of Loki's arm, and went flying across the room and out the window. Dianne jumped hearing the shattering glass, and whirled around to see Loki staring at the broken window in horror, before turning to her.

"I'll fix that," he promised.

"Yeah…uh…I got to go," Dianne muttered into the phone, "Loki just uh…broke a window trying to free himself."

"Oh…well, have fun fixing that," Olyvia replied, "I'll talk to you later."

Dianne said her goodbyes and hung up, setting her phone down on the counter as she walked over to Loki. She just looked at his frozen hand for a few seconds, before sighing.

"I did manage to stop it this time," Loki said, trying to look at the bright side of their situation.

Dianne snapped her head up, "Really?"

Loki nodded in reply.

"Well…that's a start. Can you make it go away then?"

"Uh…well."

Dianne sighed again, "I'll get the hammer."

* * *

Once off the phone with her sister, Olyvia headed back into the kitchen so she could get started with dinner, now that she had the information she needed to be able to cook it thoroughly to avoid food poisoning. Setting food and cutlery out on the counter, Olyvia paused momentarily as she noticed Steve pacing around the living room. He had been doing that for the last…what was it, half hour now? Possibly longer? He looked anxious about something, _again_, like he had for the last week. Last time she asked what was wrong he said it was nothing, that he was just fine. She didn't believe him of course. The way he was acting reminded her of Loki on the day of his wedding, he was _that_ nervous about _something_ and it was driving her crazy.

"Steve…perhaps you should take a walk around the apartment complex before you wear a hole into my carpet and down into the apartment below me," Olyvia said, "See if that will help calm your nerves."

"Calm my nerves?" Steve asked, his voice sounding slightly higher than usual, as he came to a stop in the middle of the living room, "I-I don't need to do that, I'm just fine. Completely calm."

Olyvia raised an eyebrow at him, "Right…Steve, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Steve, honestly, there is _something_ bothering you, I know that, which bothers me because you're not telling me what it is! It's driving me _insane_! Just…talk to me. Please."

Steve couldn't say no to her pleading, and with a resigned sigh began with his pacing again as he tried to come up with some sort of believable excuse, because what he was nervous about she couldn't know about because that would ruin his surprise. Luckily, he did have something that would work.

"It's been a month, and still we haven't seen any activity from this Amora woman," Steve said, "It seems too long of a time for her to remain idle."

Olyvia seemed to buy that, though it was partially true that it did cause Steve worry. It really did seem too long of a time for Amora to not have tried again to get to Olyvia. Her whole demeanor became grim at the mention of the Asgardian woman.

"Right…I guess that makes sense," Olyvia said, "Maybe she's busy planning something."

"Which is why I worry," Steve groaned.

"Which is in turn making you tense, and a little irritable," Olyvia said, walking over to him and placing her hands on his shoulders to stop him from pacing, "You need to get out and spend some of your bottled up energy. There is a gym here at the apartment complex, you just need my key to get in."

"I'm not going to leave you alone," Steve argued, "That may be the reason Amora hasn't tried anything, you've been with me the whole time."  
"Steve…like I said before, she could easily take you, why would you cause her any pause?"

"Maybe she doesn't want any witnesses to her attack on you," Steve said, "In any case, I'm _not_ leaving you alone here."

"Steve…go jog or walk a few laps around the apartment complex, it'll make you feel better," Olyvia ordered.

"I'm not—."

"Now!" Olyvia pressed, "You're getting cabin fever being holed up in here for so long, go out, get some fresh air. That's an order, Captain."

"And just who do you think you are to order me around?"

"Your girlfriend," Olyvia replied, before giving him a peck on the lips, "Now go. I expect to see you back in twenty minutes, alright."

Steve sighed in defeat, "Fine. I'll take my phone with me in case anything happens, or if you start becoming paranoid and I'll come right back."

"I'll lock the door behind you so you feel more comfortable leaving me here."

Giving her a firm kiss, surprising Olyvia somewhat from the sudden passion of it, Steve made his way to the door.

"Do I really have to be gone for twenty minutes?" Steve asked as he started shutting the door.

"Yes," Olyvia replied, "Time starts when the door shuts."

With another sigh, Steve shut the door, and Olyvia went ahead and locked it and slid the bolt into its lock at the top of the door. Going back into the kitchen she went back to making dinner, when five minutes later there was a knock on the door. Cautiously approaching it, she looked through the peephole to see Steve standing out there.

"Steve, it's only been five minutes."

"I know, but I just couldn't leave you alone for longer than that," Steve replied.

Olyvia frowned, "You know, I'm tempted to leave you standing out there for the remainder of your time."

"I'll wait then," Steve said with a sigh.

But Olyvia couldn't just make him stand out there for fifteen more minutes if he really was that concerned for her. So unlatching the bolt and unlocking the other two locks, she opened the door and let him in.

"You know, this stress isn't good for you," Olyvia said as Steve came back inside.

"Leaving you alone, vulnerable to attack, causes me even more stress though," Steve rebutted.

Olyvia rolled her eyes as she shut the door and locked the deadbolt. Though she could understand where he was coming from, he wasn't doing himself any favors by hanging onto his worry.

"Then I guess you may go back to pacing and wearing a hole in my carpet," Olyvia said as she walked back into the kitchen, "I'm sure you can already see your path already."

Olyvia wasn't paying much heed to Steve as she resumed cutting the vegetables for the meatloaf, since she figured he'd go back to his usual thing of pacing or sitting down and reading, until she paused when she thought she heard something odd. Looking around the room, she finally spotted what the noise was. Whisper, who was sitting on the arm of the couch, was bristled up like a bottle-brush, growling menacingly, her ice-blue eyes trained on Steve just five feet in front of her. That…was odd indeed, Whisper loved Steve. She loved everyone. Well, just about anyone. There were certain people she didn't like, who all had a common personality. Glancing over at Steve, she saw him shoot a glare back at the cat, definitely a look she was _not_ common with either. It was so hateful, full of spite, Steve just didn't seem capable of that. Olyvia's heart began to pound loudly in her ears, her hands starting to shake, as she started to have a panic attack, something Dianne mentioned to her coming back to her, sharp and clear, when before she hadn't given it much thought. Amora had _transformed_ herself to appear as Loki. She could take any shape then. She knew she needed to act like nothing was wrong though to keep "Steve" from trying anything just yet, so the real Steve could get back, that was, _if_ it really was Amora in her living room, and not just Whisper having an off day. She needed to get Steve back fast if he still was walking around the complex. She was so glad he took his cell phone. Now to see if her wild concoctions were just that, or whether they held any fact to them.

"Ugh, you know what, I just realized I have no idea what to cook the meatloaf at," Olyvia said, placing down the knife, though a little hesitant to do so, "I need to call Mom or Dianne. Dianne would probably be the best bet though."

Steve said nothing as she pulled out her phone, and that was a dead giveaway that it wasn't really him. The real Steve knew she already called her mom and sister for that very reason. Trying to keep her shaking from being too noticeable, she dialed Steve's number. She was still hoping though to hear the phone ring inside, but after the first two, and hearing nothing, her stomach just dropped and she began to panic a little more. Steve was relatively quick to answer, which she was thankful for.

"Am I allowed to come back?" Steve asked.

"Hey Dia, I need a favor," Olyvia said, knowing that would set the alarms off in Steve's head.

"Dia? What—shit!"

Well that was certainly a colorful word that she hadn't heard from Steve before. He instantly hung up, and Olyvia talked into the phone a little longer to sell the act, before hanging up and looking to the door. Now to get it unlocked so Steve could get back in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, quick question to my readers…I have an idea for another Avenger fanfic, which would definitely feature more Loki, but…I don't know if I should work on it just yet while trying to finish this series. So the question is, should I go for it or put it off for a little? As a warning, if I did start it, updates for this one would take longer.**

**harrylee94: Evil walking cookbook! The world is doomed! And you'll just have to wait and see who James is. If you guess right, I just might tell you so. Maybe.**

**kakirovich: *snickers* I do love writing cliffhangers. Good news though, this one doesn't! Hmm…need to work on a cliffhanger for next chapter…**

**Xandrea: I hope I didn't kill too many brain cells. And again, thank you. Your reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :D**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: Yeah…I really enjoy beating her up too much don't I? Someone else needs to take a turn.**

**CHAPTER SIX**

Placing her phone back into her pocket, Olyvia wracked her brain for some excuse to get the door unlocked. Though Steve could break down the door easy, she'd rather he be able to get in without doing that so he wouldn't have to pay for damages again, and also be able to lock the door after they kick Amora's ass. She wasn't feeling very confident that they'd be able to take her on and actually win, just get her to run again.

Staring at the food for a few moments, a plan clicked together in her head, and she headed over to the fridge, acting as if she was looking for something.

"Ah dang it! I don't have any ketchup," Olyvia said, "You can't have meatloaf without ketchup. I'm just going to walk next door and ask Mr. Thomason if he has any I can borrow."

As she walked over to the door, "Steve" walked up behind her and grabbed her arm, stopping her just out of arms reach from the door.

"Now what?" Olyvia asked, doing her best to act like she was just talking to Steve and not an impersonator.

"It's not really that good of an idea for you to leave isn't it?" he asked.

"Steve, I've been going to school for the last month, I think I can handle walking ten feet to my neighbor's apartment," Olyvia replied, trying to shrug herself out of his grip on her arm, but it was like iron, "You can come with if you're _that_ paranoid."

"Steve" said nothing, instead just gave her a disapproving look.

"Geez, what has gotten into you?" Olyvia asked, hoping that if she called "Steve" acting unnatural Amora might back down a little.

And it worked, "Steve" letting go of her arm, "I'm just worried about you, I can't help but be protective."

Olyvia took the few steps to the door and unlocked the deadbolt, "There really is no need to be so protective over me walking into my own hallway."

"Steve" didn't look amused, and Olyvia just stayed in her spot for a few seconds before sighing heavily, "If you think you could live without ketchup, then I guess I can stay in here."

"I can."

"Very well," Olyvia said, moving back around "Steve" and into the kitchen, grabbing her knife again and resumed _yet again_ cutting the vegetables. She hoped having the knife in her hand would keep "Steve" at bay, at least until real Steve showed up.

It felt like it had been an eternity since she had called Steve, when in reality it had only been a few minutes, so he should show up really soon. The Steve impersonator was slowly making their way closer to the kitchen as Olyvia worked, when the door suddenly burst open, and the real Steve rushed inside, frantically looking around for Olyvia. He stopped short when he saw himself before quickly recovering and racing over towards the imposter as he lunged for Olyvia. Bracing herself against the counters since she was in the corner, Olyvia brought up her feet and kicked the fake Steve square in the chest, sending him flying back into the living room, where he then changed back into Amora. Steve went to grab her when she blasted him away with magic before hopping back up to her feet.

"Stop making this difficult! Wench!" Amora screeched at Olyvia as she began stalking towards her.

"Wench? Really? What an insult. I'm offended. Honestly," Olyvia said sarcastically as she adjusted her hold on the knife into a stabbing position.

When Amora began to raise her hands, Olyvia didn't let her get to the point of using any magic, and ran at her, slashing with the knife, which she blocked with her wrist guards. By now, Steve was back up, and went back to Olyvia's aid. Throwing a punch at Amora, Steve was surprised when she hardly buckled from the blow. Just from that, he knew she was no ordinary woman. Jumping away from the two of them, a staff magically appeared in her hands and she swung out with it, clipping Olyvia on the forehead. She then hit Steve a few times, knocking him back a few feet, before reaching out and grabbing Olyvia by the neck and knocked the knife from her hand. The staff disappeared as she pulled Olyvia closer, a dagger replacing it as she adjusted her hold so she held Olyvia by the back of her neck, and held the dagger to Olyvia's throat as Steve caught his footing.

"Make one move and she's dead," Amora threatened.

Steve froze, not chancing Olyvia's safety.

"Steve, she needs me alive if I have something she wants," Olyvia said, "She won't do it."

Amora scoffed, "No I don't. Killing the host body won't affect it."

Host body? Affect it? What was it? What was she talking about? Since Olyvia was already gripping onto Amora's arm from behind, trying to pry herself loose, she clawed her fingernails into the exposed skin as she tried more desperately to escape. Steve was panicking right now, trying to think of what he could do to stop her before she hurt Olyvia, or disappeared with her. Amora pressed the blade of the knife against Olyvia's skin, more trying to make Olyvia stop fighting, when she suddenly cried out in pain as Olyvia felt a cold sensation in her fingers. Amora let go of Olyvia as she recoiled back, and Olyvia took her chance to kick her again before leaping away. Steve rushed forward to grab Amora so they could contain her and attempt to get answers, when she just disappeared. Olyvia wasn't going to take any chances and grabbed the knife from the floor and threw it where Amora had disappeared, in case she had only cloaked herself. It flew past and embedded itself into the wall.

"Looks like she left," Olyvia said breathlessly as she got back to her feet.

Steve turned back around and pulled Olyvia into his arms, almost crushing her against him as he hugged her. Olyvia returned the hug, wrapping her arms around him, when Steve cringed. She pulled away, wondering what she did, when Steve grabbed her wrist to hold her hand up to look at it. Olyvia stared in horror as she watched her fingers turn back to flesh from the frosted ice they appeared to be. Looking at the other, she saw it was doing the same.

"Steve…what's happening to me?"

* * *

Olyvia was certain she had done absolutely horrid on her last two finals, having been too stressed to study properly for them. After the second run-in with Amora, only more questions arose, and a lot more stress. It was definitely time to go see Dr. Banner, and she and Steve already made arrangements to fly to New York next week. Walking back to the library to meet up with Steve, a somewhat familiar face approached her.

"Well, hello again," James greeted.

"Hi…," Olyvia replied blandly. She didn't know the guy other than his name, so she wasn't going to be exactly friendly. She was a little on edge at the moment. Plus, she found it odd that both times she saw him it was after being attacked by Amora. Being paranoid, she was thinking that maybe it wasn't coincidence.

"It's…It's James, remember," he said, thinking she didn't remember him.

"I remember," she said, "It's just…I don't know you, why would I talk to you."

"Oh, ouch," James said in feigned hurt, "Definitely looks like I got you on a bad day."

Olyvia scoffed, "That's an understatement."

"Well then, I'll just continue on my way," James said, "I hope your day gets better."

He walked off as Olyvia reached the library doors, and she couldn't help but sigh sadly.

"I hope it gets better too."

* * *

Seeing Olyvia looked rather down, Steve was hesitant to broach the subject of her finals. He had a feeling they were a part of the mood she was currently in, and didn't want to incur her wrath by asking how they went. Once arriving at the apartment, he spent the next hour mustering the courage to do it.

"So…how did the finals go?"

Olyvia groaned, "Not well. I couldn't concentrate on my studying the last few days, I'm sure I missed a ton of questions. I just hope it doesn't make me fail the classes. I don't want to retake my forensic and calculus class next semester."

Steve wrapped an arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer, "I'm sure you did just fine."

"At least you have confidence in me," Olyvia muttered, "Today has just…sucked. This last week has just sucked. I hate finals."

"But at least now they're over, right?"

"Yeah," Olyvia agreed.

Steve bit his lower lip as he thought over what he would say next, his nerves starting to rise again. He had been waiting for some time for this, but he still felt incredibly nervous about doing it.

"Do you think you're up to celebrating the end of the semester?" Steve asked.

Olyvia lifted her head so she could look Steve in the eye, "Depends on what you had in mind."

"Just dinner, maybe take a short walk to get some fresh air," Steve said, "The both of us really have spent too much time indoors, don't you think?"

"Dinner sounds nice," Olyvia said, "I like not having to make dinner."

"Then pick out something nice to wear," Steve said, getting to his feet and pulling her off the couch, "And we'll go."

"It's only four o'clock."

"I know you though, and you'll take at least an hour and a half getting ready," Steve said.

Olyvia frowned at him, "It does not!"

"You take forever to pick out something to wear," Steve argued.

Olyvia opened her mouth to argue, when she realized she couldn't. She really did take a long time picking out outfits, but that was because she was a girl, and everything had to look nice and match. That took time.

"Okay, you have a point," Olyvia said, "I'm going to go take a shower then, and start getting ready."

Giving him a quick kiss she headed to the bathroom, and once the door shut behind her, Steve let out a sigh of relief as she sat back down onto the couch. He could do this, he just needed to keep telling himself that. Really, how hard could it be?

* * *

After showering, Olyvia spent a good forty minutes looking for an outfit, before finally deciding on her red cotton, cowl neck tunic with her skinny jeans, and since there was a chance of walking around, Olyvia set her heels aside and grabbed her knee high black leather boots, a pair that actually fit over her large calves. Getting dressed, she then headed back into the bathroom to do her hair, now that it was half dry, pulling it back into a half ponytail to help it dry out faster. She only put a little eye shadow and mascara on for makeup, the usual amount she put on when she did. She didn't believe in overdoing makeup, it only made you look older or fake, and the last thing she wanted was to look like a Barbie Doll.

By the time she was all finished, it had been over an hour, just as Steve said, and she walked back out into the living room. He had changed out of his green checkered collared shirt into a nicer slate grey one. Of course, he was still wearing his brown leather jacket. He absolutely loved that thing.

"So where are we going?" Olyvia asked.

"That is a surprise," Steve replied, holding a hand out to her, "So if you don't mind."

Olyvia couldn't help but frown. Yes she had let him drive her car a few times, but that was when he was going somewhere on his own. She was very protective of her car. With a defeated sigh, she rummaged through her purse and handed the keys over upon finding them. Saying a quick goodbye to Whisper, telling her to guard the place, they stepped outside, locked the apartment door and made their way to the parking lot. As they reached the car, Steve turned to Olyvia and wrapped a handkerchief over her eyes.

"Steve! What are you doing?" Olyvia asked, "You're not secretly Amora again are you? Cuz I will kick your ass bitch!"

Steve laughed, "No, I just want to surprise you is all, and I can't do that with you seeing where we're going."

"Okay, then how am I going to get into the car?"

She let out a small squeak as Steve picked her up, not expecting it, and then set into the seat of the car. As her hands went to the kerchief over her eyes, Steve grabbed them and set them down into her lap.

"Do you want to ruin the surprise?"

"I was only going to look to buckle myself in," Olyvia rebutted, reaching back blindly for the seatbelt now, "But I guess I can manage to do it without looking."

It took her a few tries, but she eventually got it, and it was only after that Steve shut the passenger door and took his spot in the driver seat. Olyvia couldn't help but sigh as she heard Steve adjust the seat. That was the main thing she didn't like about other people driving her car, they move things around. It wasn't her fault her legs were shorter. Steve was a tall guy, and she was just average height, _plus_ she got her height from her torso, not her legs, unlike Dianne, but that was an explanation for another time. She decided to stay quiet, and just put up with having to readjust the seat and mirror later.

Leaning back in her seat, Olyvia waited patiently as Steve drove to their destination, and it was probably a little over five minutes before they stopped and Steve removed the kerchief from her face. Olyvia's eyes widened as she gawked at the building they were parked at.

"Are you serious?" she exclaimed, her mouth hanging slightly agape, "Steve, this place is expensive."

"And it's your favorite restaurant in the city," Steve replied.

"It's…not my _favorite_," Olyvia rebutted, "They just have _really_ good steak. Which is expensive. The last time we were here was after we got back from my grandmother's funeral, and you remember the bill, right?"

"It doesn't matter," Steve said, "I wanted to do something special for you, for working so hard this semester. You deserve it."

Olyvia smiled, "You're too sweet. I don't deserve you."

"Hardly," Steve replied before climbing out the car and heading over to the passenger side to open it for Olyvia.

Heading inside, Olyvia was a little surprised to find Steve had reservations made, but guessed he did it while she was busy getting ready, to ensure they would have a spot for them. The restaurant was definitely a busy place. They were seated at a window table that overlooked the park, the leaves on the trees a vibrant green and the flowers amongst the shrubbery an array of beautiful vibrant colors. It made Olyvia smile just looking out at it. It was something she would enjoy painting.

She and Steve chatted about school and future plans with it, both avoiding the subject of Amora and the problem Olyvia was having so they could enjoy the evening, thinking about pleasant things. After ordering their food, Steve started getting a little quieter, less involved with conversing, and a tad bit more nervous. As the evening progressed, Olyvia noticed he had become quite nervous, especially when the bill came.

"You okay Steve?" Olyvia asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Steve said.

"You're stressing again," Olyvia said blandly.

"I'm sorry," Steve apologized, "Just ignore me, it's just the usual stuff and I don't want to put a damper on the evening with it. I'll try not to…stress."

Olyvia reached across the table and wrapped her hands around his, an endearing smile on her lips, "Don't fret over that Steve, you've already made my day exponentially better. I was kind of having a bad day this morning."

"I'm glad I've managed to make it better," Steve said, returning the smile with one of his own, "So…do you think you feel up to taking a walk in the park? Or are you too full?"

Olyvia laid a hand over her stomach, "I didn't quite stuff myself so yes, I would love to take a walk. It'll help the food settle anyway."

So paying the bill, the couple made their way outside and down towards the park, linking their arms together as they leisurely strolled down the sidewalk. They didn't talk, simply just enjoying each other's company and taking in their beautiful surroundings. With the sun setting, the sky was set aflame with colors of orange and dark red where the clouds were, giving a softer and even a little romantic atmosphere in the park versus during the middle of the day. They certainly had been at the restaurant for quite some time though, for the sun to be setting already.

Letting her mind wander, Olyvia thought over the day's events, and how crappy it first started out and the effort Steve put into cheering her up. He really was a sweet, kind-hearted guy, and there was no denying she was hopelessly in love with him. It was the moments like these, where they weren't saying anything, just with each other, enjoying the moment, that she loved the most. She wished they would never end, that she could just freeze time in that moment, and they could stay that way forever.

With these thoughts running through her head, she couldn't help but look up at Steve, a loving smile on her face, before wrapping her arms tighter around his and cuddling her head against his shoulder.

"I love you," she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

Steve smiled as he gazed down at her, "I love you too. What brought that on?"

"Oh, just thinking how lucky I am," Olyvia said, "With all that you do for me, and I just wanted to say it. I don't think I've said it enough today. Or at all…actually, so I needed to say it."

"You don't _need_ to say it because I know you do, but I do like hearing it."

"Then, I love you," Olyvia repeated, the smile on her face growing wider.

Steve paused for a moment so he could give her a kiss, before the two continued on their way again. Olyvia was all smiles as they headed into the middle of the park, slowing to a stop by the fountain. Steve was glad to see she was so much happier now than this afternoon.

"You ready to head back?" Olyvia asked, since it was Steve who had stopped, and she was just following his lead.

Steve took in a deep breath, telling himself again that he could do this. It was just words, how hard could they be? Looking at Olyvia though, they became all fumbled up.

"No…not yet, I," Steve paused for a moment to try to rearrange the words so they would come out in the somewhat proper order, "There is something…I need to say. Or…tell you, is more the proper term. I-I, ugh, sorry."

Olyvia bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing, she knew it wouldn't help him, just make it worse.

"Take your time," Olyvia said after a few moments of silence, though she was starting to wonder what it was he wanted to talk to her about that made him so nervous.

Taking in another breath, Steve managed to calm his nerves just enough to continue, "Olyvia… the time I've spent with you, and everything we've gone through together, it's made me realize how special you are to me. You've been so patient with me, and understanding about my feelings toward Peggy. I've been able to put that behind me now, to move on and being with you helped me with that. You made life worth living, to put up with this strange world I've woken up in. I want to continue living this life…with you by my side…always."

Olyvia felt she was about to burst she was so full of emotion, hearing this sweet speech from Steve, but it was as he knelt down on his knee that pushed her over the edge. Her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped, tears springing to her eyes, and her heart and mind felt like it had just exploded. Was this really happening? It was, Steve had pulled out a small box from his jacket pocket and inside was a silver colored ring, three diamonds inlaid at the top.

"Olyvia Harris, will you marry me?"

Olyvia was sure she would start hyperventilating any second now, so she had to take a few deep breaths herself to be able to reply.

"Yes," she said as she nodded, dropping her hands back down to her sides, "Yes, yes, yes."

Steve let out a sigh of relief as he got back to his feet, removing the ring from the box and sliding it onto Olyvia's left ring finger. Using her right hand, she hastily wiped away the tears that spilled over. She was just so happy she just couldn't contain it. Taking a moment, she gazed at the engagement ring on her hand, before she was overwhelmed with joy again, and threw her arms around Steve's neck as she kissed him.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips.

"I love you too," Steve replied before kissing her again.

When they broke apart, Olyvia hugged him again, and looked back at the ring on her finger. Noticing something she couldn't help but ask.

"Now, is this Sterling Silver or White Gold because I do believe I've mentioned I'm allergic to Sterling before."

Steve chuckled. Of course she would be worried about something like that.

"I remembered, don't worry."

"Okay."

Kissing him again, Olyvia was certain she never before felt this level of happiness. Today couldn't have been better.

* * *

Dianne just stared at her phone in confusion, wondering what the hell it was Olyvia was trying to say to her. Since it was past sunset, the best guess she could make as to what was going on was that a bat was in her apartment, and she was freaking out over it and decided to call her for some reason. Dianne said a few times into the phone that she couldn't understand her, and after a few more tries, Olyvia hung up.

"What…was _that_ about?" Loki asked. He overheard everything too since Olyvia was screeching so loud over the phone.

"No idea," Dianne replied, "I may speak sibling gibberish, but _that_ I had no clue what it was. If it's something really important, she'll text me."

And sure enough her phone went off informing her she had received a text. Opening it, she found it was a media file, and had to wait for the picture to load. She started humming the Jeopardy tune while she waited. She didn't upgrade to a smart phone like Olyvia had, so it took a bit for it to load stuff like this. She stopped abruptly with her humming, almost choking on her own saliva when she saw the picture.

"OH MY GOSH LIVY'S ENGAGED!" Dianne exclaimed, "No wonder I couldn't understand her. Oh my gosh! Steve actually mustered up the guts to propose! This is so exciting! I wonder if she called Mom yet."

"I'd like to see your dad's reaction to hearing this news," Loki muttered. He still had nightmares about his own experience. He was sure the man still wanted to kill him.

Dianne began laughing, "Oh I'm sure it'll be interesting. Lucky for Steve though he's four hours away…I'm sure Dad could get there by midnight. Oh, and then he would definitely kill Steve, seeing he's at Livy's apartment. I don't think even a super soldier could stand up against Dad in 'must protect my little girl' mode."

"Can we send him after Amora then?" Loki asked, "All we'd have to say is she hurt her twice already and he can finish her for us?"

"I wish," Dianne groaned, "but unfortunately, I do not believe even pissed off daddy powers could take care of her."

"Yeah, if only we were so lucky," Loki sighed.

"But yay, Livy's engaged!" Dianne said excitedly.

Loki smiled endearingly at his wife. At least she could look at the bright side of this situation. He, on the other hand, was having trouble seeing that.

* * *

It was nearly midnight in New York, but Stark was still up in his lab finishing up his latest project he would be adding to the Mark VI when JARVIS informed him of an incoming call from Rosemary Harris. Curious to see what she would be calling about at this time of night, he went ahead and answered.

"It's been quite some time since I last spoke to you, Rosemary," Stark greeted, "What's the emergency now?"

"You owe me five hundred bucks," Rosemary said smugly.

"Owe you—," Stark began in confusion before the realization hit him and his jaw dropped, "Wait, so Capsicle actually did it?"

"Yep, and you owe me five hundred bucks," Rosemary said, "I take checks, if you wanted to send the money that way."

"So you called me…when it's nearly midnight over here, to remind me to pay you?" Stark asked incredulously.

"It's almost midnight there?"

"You did learn about different time zones in school…right?"

"Maybe, I might not have been paying much attention at the time," Rosemary replied, "But I apologize if I woke you up."

"I happened to be up, but try to keep in mind the time difference next time you're going to call."

"Right, will do," Rosemary promised, before letting out a tiny squeal, "I'm so excited for Livy! She was so freaking happy. Couldn't understand what she was trying to say for the first five minutes until she calmed down. So looking forward to seeing her wedding."

"Yeah…weddings are…great," Stark muttered, completely unenthusiastic, the opposite of how Rosemary was feeling currently.

"So when are you and Pepper getting hitched?" Rosemary asked.

Stark's breath caught in his throat, nearly choking him in the process. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure.

"What makes you think _that's_ ever going to happen?" Stark asked with a snort, as if the idea were ludicrous. Honestly, him get married? It'd never happen.

"Well, Pepper caught the bouquet, that means she's getting married next," Rosemary said matter-of-factly, "So is it going to happen anytime soon?"

Stark laughed, "Rosemary, you know me, I am not the settling down kind of guy. It's _not_ going to happen. Ever."

"But you two are like…perfect for each other," Rosemary said, "Even though at Dianne's wedding was the first time I saw the two of you together, but I can tell when people work, and you two work together."

"Marriage isn't as simple as that though."

"You just think it's more complicated than it actually is," Rosemary rebutted.

"It's just. Not. Me," Stark reiterated, "How many times do I have to say it?"

Rosemary was silent for a few moments before replying, "I can't imagine how sad Pepper will be then, always waiting."

Those words were like a dagger to Stark's heart, but they were true. Pepper wasn't like Tony, she would be happy settling down, starting a family and probably was thinking about it now that both she and him were getting older.

"Plus," Rosemary went on, "I think you'd be an awesome dad. Maybe a little immature at times, but you would still be a good dad."

Stark still didn't say anything, and Rosemary took that as him telling her he was done with this conversation.

"Anyway, I know Livy and Steve will be seeing you soon to see Bruce, so tell them hi for me would you?" Rosemary asked, "I'll talk to you later."

Stark said his goodbye as well before hanging up. Sitting in his chair, Rosemary's words kept repeating themselves over and over in his head. With a sigh, he got up and headed out the lab. He knew he wouldn't be able to get any more work done tonight, but he wouldn't be able to get any sleep either with the guilt eating away at him.

* * *

Even though it had been a few days since Steve's proposal, Olyvia was still as giddy as ever about it. Every time she looked down at the ring on her hand, a smile would spread across her face, and she just lit up with joy. It made her day so much better just seeing it there.

She and Steve had their things all packed and ready to go, and after asking one of her neighbors to keep an eye on Whisper for her while she was gone, it was time for them to head to New York. Steve got in contact with Stark before they went to the airport, which Steve regretted seeing as how he was blushing madly by the end of the phone call, and was a stuttering mess and couldn't even give Olyvia a straight answer as to why he was acting that way. She figured it was just Stark being Stark and embarrassing him. At least Stark was able to inform Steve that he would have one of his drivers pick them up from the airport and bring them to Stark Tower.

Olyvia spent most of the trip reading one of her books or resting her head against Steve's shoulder to nap, and then they were finally in New York, arriving late in the evening.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep for another four hours," Olyvia commented as they walked off the tarmac and into the airport, "I'm still wide awake, being on Oregon time."

"I'm sure you'll get used to it fairly quickly," Steve assured her, reaching over to grab her hand, "You've spent a bit of time on the east coast already."

Olyvia nodded in agreement. She certainly hoped she would be able to adjust quickly, because she liked her sleep.

Reaching the luggage claim, they spent fifteen minutes waiting for it before theirs came, and they headed out to find this driver of Stark's who was to take them back to the tower. Steve scanned the crowd since he was taller than most everyone around, but it was Olyvia who spotted him. With a snigger, she tugged on Steve's jacket to get his attention and then pointed over to a man in a suit, holding a sign among a group of others holding signs as well. On his though, it said _Capsicle_.

"I am so hitting Stark when we get to the tower," Steve growled.

"Hey, at least he didn't pick something else to put on there," Olyvia pointed out, "as in something more crude."

"Okay, I won't hit him as hard."

Olyvia laughed before looping her arm through his and leading him towards the suited man. Once double checking that Olyvia and Steve were indeed his fare, he lead them out front to a nice black sedan where they loaded their luggage and themselves and inched their way into the busy New York traffic.

"This is why I hate big cities," Olyvia sighed, leaning back against the grey leather seats, "Traffic. It's a nightmare."

"At least you don't have to drive," Steve said.

"True," Olyvia agreed, "It could always be worse."

With the horrid traffic it took a long time before they reached Stark Tower, the driver just dropping them off before driving away again. Heading inside, the two jumped as JARVIS greeted them and proceeded to give them directions to head to the penthouse.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to a disembodied voice coming out of nowhere to talk to me," Olyvia said, twitching her head around, waiting for the A.I to talk again.

"Welcome to my world," Steve mumbled.

Heading into the elevator, per JARVIS's instructions, the A.I sent them up to the penthouse, where they were greeted by Pepper once the doors opened.

"Hello Olyvia, Steve, it's good to see you two again," Pepper welcomed them as they stepped out into the penthouse, "And I believe congratulations are in order."

Again, that big grin spread across Olyvia's face, "Thank you."

Olyvia wasn't the only one with the grin on her face, Steve having one as well. He was just as happy as Olyvia was about the whole engagement. It instantly vanished though when Stark walked in.

"You lost me five hundred bucks Capsicle."

Olyvia's brow furrowed in confusion as she turned to look at Steve, "Five hundred bucks? What's he talking about?"

Steve's cheeks flushed red, "W-well—."

"Rosemary and I made a bet at your sister's wedding as to when Captain Fancy Pants would pop the question, and she won," Stark intervened, "Because he wouldn't do it within a month's time from the wedding date."

Olyvia sighed, "What is up with people and making bets?"

"You were one of those, I might add," Steve muttered.

"I know that," Olyvia said, "but still my point is the same. So were you in on this then?"

"No!" Steve exclaimed, "I had _nothing_ to do with it. I only found out a few weeks ago about it when Stark tried convincing me to propose early so he could win the bet."

Olyvia just shook her head, "Kids will be kids."

"Are you calling me a kid?" Stark asked indignantly.

"You are the biggest kid at heart I've ever met, so yes, I am," Olyvia replied, "Anyway…Bruce is still here right?"

Stark nodded, "He's gone to bed though, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for him to take a look at you. Speaking of bed, it's about that time anyway so Pepper can escort you to your room and you can get settled in."

"Room?" Steve asked, noting the singularity.

"Yes room," Stark replied, "Though it's basically its own apartment. Why? You two are engaged, and it's not like you haven't been living with her at her apartment for the last month and a half Rogers so what 's the difference really?"

Steve's face started to turn the shade of scarlet once again, "I-it was different! We d-didn't share a bed!"

Olyvia nudged him in the side, and whispered to where only he could hear, "Not entirely true. There was that one night when Whisper scared the hell out of me."

Steve's blush darkened a few more shades, "I-I was only looking out for you. We shouldn't share a room, not until we're married."

"I'll behave myself," Olyvia said, making Steve scoff, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Steve muttered.

"You think _I'm_ the one who can't behave? You haven't done that good of a job on that yourself, _Spangle Pants_."

Steve narrowed his eyes at his fiancée, who returned it with a glare of her own. She was so asking for retribution for that spangle comment again, and he would do it, he wasn't afraid to.

"Wait a second, are you two having your first lovers spat?" Stark asked, "I need to start recording this!"

"Just…show us the room already!" Olyvia exclaimed.

"Show _her_ the room," Steve reiterated, "I shouldn't share one with her, it's only proper."

"Oh stop living in the 40's so much Steve," Olyvia said in frustration, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him behind her as she followed after Pepper who was on her way to showing them the room, "I think you'll survive a few weeks more living with me. Maybe we should duct tape your hands together, that way you _can't_ do anything, since you're so worried about your own willpower."

Steve wanted to reply with that it wasn't just his own willpower he was worried about, but that was an argument meant for more private settings, not in front of Stark of all people.

"So the Capsicle still is a virgin?" Stark asked, "I thought by now he—."

"Stark, we have values," Olyvia snapped, clearly irritated now, "And saving ourselves for marriage is one of them, which we _will_ stick to."

Since she was walking past him, she aimed a kick at his shin, which just glanced off of it since he tried dodging though. It was Steve who punched him in the shoulder, giving him a good wallop.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You deserved it for how crude you're being," Steve replied.

Stark rolled his eyes. Life with those two here was going to be interesting indeed.

* * *

Once shown to the room, Pepper was quick to leave to avoid the awkwardness of the couple having their spat. Dropping her luggage, Olyvia then stood in front of the door, leaning against it and crossed her arms. Steve sighed heavily and dropped his luggage onto the floor.

"Livy, you know how I feel about this," Steve said, "And it's not like I have to be right here all the time, now that we're here."

"Steve, I don't see anything wrong with this," Olyvia said, "It'll be just like back at my place, only with Stark around, so I'm pretty sure both of us will behave for fear he's had cameras installed."

Steve looked around the room, "You think he'd actually do that. Wait, why am I asking, he would."

Olyvia pushed herself away from the door and closed the distance between her and Steve, draping her arms over his shoulders, "I'd rather you…not leave me alone. As much as I hate to admit it, even being here, I'm…I'm still scared."

Steve's gaze softened, and wrapping his arms around Olyvia's waist, pulled her into a loving embrace, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that was how you felt. But I still don't think it's a good idea."

"Why?"

"Is it really so hard to understand?" Steve asked incredulously, "Livy…I don't exactly trust myself around you, and you…don't exactly discourage me either, you only seem to encourage…that."

"Well, did you ever think that I just might want…_that_?"

Steve could feel his face growing warm again as he was sure it was turning bright red again, "You've said before that you _don't_ want to, because that's how you've been raised. Y-you're confusing me now Livy."

"Just because I know I shouldn't and want to wait…doesn't mean I don't _want_ it," Olyvia rephrased, "There is a difference."

Steve's heart was going about a million beats a minute, and his face felt like it was on fire he was blushing so madly.

"And it's really not my fault," Olyvia went on, "You are just too attractive, I can't help myself."

That managed to put a smile on Steve's face, "You're silly."

"It's true though, and I blame you for my…lack of discouragement."

"I believe you hold some of the blame too."

"How so?"

"You are just as irresistible," Steve replied before bending his head down and kissing her.

After breaking apart a few moments later, Steve let his forehead rest against Olyvia's, and the two stood there in silence, enjoying the moment. It wasn't until a minute or so later Steve decided to break the silence.

"Now, I do believe I owe you something for a comment earlier."

Olyvia's brow furrowed in confusion, obvious that she didn't know what he was talking about, "What comment?"

His reply was tickling her, and she let out a squeal as she nearly fell to the floor. It was then she remembered her Spangle Pants comment to him again. Right, _that_. She really needed to not say names like that to him so she could avoid being tickled.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Olyvia just about screamed, "Uncle! Uncle!"

"I don't think you should get away that easy though," Steve rebutted.

Squirming out of his grasp, Olyvia ran into the bedroom, threw herself onto the bed, grabbed the blanket, and then rolled across to wrap herself up in the blanket, protecting herself from further tickling. Steve had followed her into the room, and started laughing seeing her. Walking over to the bed, he laid down next to her, who then shot a glare at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Protecting myself," Olyvia replied, "Obviously."

Steve chuckled, shaking his head, "You really are silly."

"And you're a meanie head."

"At least that is better than Spangle Pants."

"I will do my best never to call you that again," Olyvia promised, "I hate being tickled."

Steve laughed again before cupping his fiancée's face in his hands, and kissed her, "I love you."

"And I love you too," Olyvia replied, giving him a couple more pecks on the lips, "Now could you shove a pillow under my head? I'm going to sleep right here, you can go find your own blanket."

"I thought you were still wide awake."

"I am, but I'm going to try to fall asleep."

"In your day clothes?"

Olyvia frowned, and was silent for a few moments while she thought over something before saying, "Don't you dare try tickling me again, I _will_ hurt you."

"I promise I won't."

So once Steve moved out of her way, she unrolled herself and headed back to the main room to grab her luggage, Steve not far behind to grab his own. Changing into her favorite old t-shirt and flannel bottoms as her pajamas, she crawled into the bed and made herself comfortable. It was a few minutes later that she felt the weight of someone sitting on the bed beside her, followed by a warm kiss on her temple.

"Goodnight," Steve whispered.

Olyvia reached up, and wrapped her hand around Steve's bicep, turning her head just enough to see him, "Will you stay?"

Steve sighed, "You know my opinion on this…but if you really want me to."

"I feel safer with you here," Olyvia replied.

With a nod, he moved to the other side of the bed, and slid under the covers. Rolling over to face him, Olyvia cozied up next to him, a smile spreading across her lips as Steve draped an arm over her to keep her close. There really was no other place she'd rather be, no place she felt safer, than in Steve's arms and she would be happy staying like that forever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Holy cow! I was able to crank this chapter out in two days! I have no life…but hey, you get another chapter already! And about the other story I mentioned last chapter, I won't go ahead and post it, but I may just write in it occasionally while mainly working on this one. Once this series is done, I'll focus more on the new one. Unless I'm hit by another brilliant idea. They happen too often. -_-**

**harrylee94: …okay, since you guessed right, yes, but he's only introduced this story. He's featured in next fic.**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: Yes, James is trouble. And thank you for your input on the other fic idea.**

**Xandrea: Well all your reviews make me feel frigging special. XD Makes me sooooooo happy seeing someone enjoying the story!**

**alleycat2834: I'm going to put it off for just a little. Like I said above, I'll be working on it a bit at a time, that way I can try to be ahead when I get around to posting it. Keep an eye out for it though!**

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Steve was up first the next morning, and spent five minutes trying to wake Olyvia before finally giving up. After cuddling for almost an hour last night, Olyvia started tossing and turning trying to get comfortable again so she could sleep, and it was only after midnight that she finally did so Steve wasn't surprised that she was still dead asleep at seven in the morning. So he just laid there and watched her sleep, deliberating when he should try to wake her again, even though he was sure she would flay him alive for waking her before eight on a day she _did not_ have to get up early. Plus, it was about four in the morning in Oregon, which her body would still be accustomed to. So to be on the safe side, he went ahead and got up, dressed into day clothes, and headed back into the penthouse, and into the kitchen where Stark and Pepper were eating breakfast.

"Morning sunshine," Stark greeted, his mouth full of hashbrowns, "Sleep well last night?"

Steve shot a glare at him, figuring he meant something completely different.

"It really is just an innocent question," Stark said, seeing the look on his face, "This time. So?"

"Just fine," Steve replied tersely.

"So where is soon-to-be Mrs. Sunshine?"

"Still sleeping," Steve replied, "It's four in the morning in her brain right now, I don't expect her to be up for a while."

A mischievous look crossed Stark's face, and Steve instantly knew what he was thinking.

"If you wake her, you will die," Steve informed him, "Just to warn you."

"But I'm Iron Man."

"And she is the one you nicknamed She-hulk."

"Point taken," Stark admitted, "Maybe some other day then."

Steve shook his head. Stark was too childish for his own good. Perhaps someday he'd learn.

Looking through the cupboards, Steve found himself some cereal to eat, since that was the safest route to making breakfast. He didn't want to try using Stark's appliances, they looked far too confusing to him. He made quick work of the cereal, by which time Bruce walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning Steve," Bruce greeted, "I didn't know you were here already."

"Good morning Dr. Banner," Steve replied, "We arrived just last night so we haven't been here long."

"I guess I'll be seeing to Olyvia today then."

Steve nodded.

"I'm also guessing she's still asleep."

"I don't think a bomb going off in the room would wake her," Steve replied with a chuckle.

"Want to test that?" Stark asked, "I'd be happy to."

"Stark, just leave her alone."

"But that's no fun," Stark pouted.

"Anyway, make sure Olyvia doesn't eat when she gets up," Bruce informed Steve, "I need to draw blood, and without food in her system will make running the tests easier."

Steve nodded to show he understood, before heading to the sink to rinse out his bowl. He asked Stark if he happened to have a gym in the building, and was glad to hear that he did. He would definitely use that on other days, but now that he had already eaten he was going to pass on that today. So instead he headed back to his room, quietly slipping inside and rummaged around in his luggage for his sketchbook. Once he found it, he headed back into the penthouse, pulled a chair over to the window, and began sketching the view just to have something to pass the time.

The minutes ticked by, Steve becoming absorbed in his sketching, until a few hours had passed, and it was nearly ten o'clock. Steve had heard the others walking around in the room behind him in that time, but he was able to recognize when Olyvia came out into the room, due to the shuffling sound of her feet against the carpeted floor. Shutting the sketchbook, he turned around to see a bleary-eyed Olyvia shuffling her way across the living room.

"Good morning," Steve greeted, smiling in amusement at his fiancée, due to her hair being all fluffed out and tangled looking, "Did you sleep alright?"

"Good enough for the first time not being in my own bed," Olyvia mumbled in reply, followed by a yawn, "Hopefully tonight will be better."

It wasn't even two seconds later that Stark entered the room, sliding to a stop when he saw Olyvia, clearly taken aback by her appearance before exclaiming.

"It's—ALIVE!"

Olyvia gave the smallest growl in response, clearly too tired to sound too threatening. Getting up from his seat, Steve crossed the room to where he was at her side and gave her a hug.

"I talked to Bruce this morning," Steve said, "He wants to get a blood sample from you before you ate anything this morning."

"Oh, okay," Olyvia muttered, "Then let's go do that. I'm hungry."

Olyvia turned to go, before stopping, turning again, stopped, and then turned back to Steve.

"Uh…I don't know where anything is so you lead the way."

Steve looked over to Stark, "I'm assuming Bruce has a lab here?"

Stark nodded, "He took over one of mine. Well, actually I gave it to him, but who cares about the details, really."

Stark gave them directions to the lab, telling them also that JARVIS could help them if they ended up getting lost. With a thank you, they headed toward the elevator. As they passed by Stark, he reached out and poked at Olyvia's hair. She shot a glare at him with another growl rumbling in her throat. Steve reached over and wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her closer to him, to make sure she wouldn't lash out at him.

"Is that thing alive?" Stark asked, referring to her hair.

"Stark, I suggest you leave her alone if you wish to live longer than a few more minutes," Steve said.

"But it's so entertaining poking fun at her."

"So torture and death sounds fun to you?" Olyvia asked.

Stark snapped his jaw shut. She sounded a little too serious with that comment.

"I thought so," Olyvia muttered before letting Steve lead her out of the room, running her fingers through her hair trying to tame her wild locks.

Once they were in the elevator, Steve figured it would be safe to talk now.

"Now you see why I find him to be such a pain in the ass."

Olyvia nodded in agreement, "I saw that months ago, but it's even worse living with him. Ugh, these next few weeks will be _fun_."

"Speaking of these next few weeks," Steve began, "We aren't even sure we'll only be here that long."

"Where are you going with this Steve?"

"Well…if this condition you have takes longer to cure…when should we plan to have the wedding?"

"Oh," Olyvia muttered, understanding now what he was worried about, "Well…surely I won't have this in a few months. So…how about a fall wedding? I love Fall. In Oregon. Not here."

Steve chuckled, "You really don't like the east coast that much do you?"

"Given that I almost died a few times over here…not so much," Olyvia replied, "Bad memories. Plus, it's wet over here. I'm sure the weather isn't nice in October."

"So you want to get married in October then?"

Olyvia nodded, "Unless that is too soon for you."

"Olyvia, I'd marry you tomorrow if that was what you really wanted."

"Really? Then…could we?"

Steve laughed, "Your mother would kill us both."

"She would, okay, then October it is."

Reaching the floor Bruce's lab was on, the elevator doors opened and the couple continued on their way, reaching the lab a few minutes later. Olyvia noticed him stumble a little when he first saw her, and she ran her hands through her hair again. It didn't look _that_ bad did it? Maybe next time she'd brush her hair before leaving the room.

"So are you just drawing blood today?" Olyvia asked.

"That and I'd like for you to describe what's been happening to you," Bruce replied.

Olyvia went ahead and took a seat where Bruce motioned for her to, and started explaining what she and Steve both started noticing while he took a sample of her blood. Bruce took hold of her hand when Steve mentioned how she felt cold, and sure enough, her hand was cold as ice, while she couldn't even tell unless she placed her hand against her face.

"I should get a PET scan too then," Bruce said, "If this has anything to do with the gamma radiation your body absorbed months ago, it could have done something to your brain."

Olyvia paled, terror gripping at her chest. That certainly wasn't good. She didn't want anything messing with her brain, because damage couldn't be undone and the brain was the most important part of the body. Frozen in place from the fear, it took Steve taking a hold of her hand and assuring her things would be just fine for a few minutes before she regained movement of her limbs again. Steve went with her to the scanning machine, where he stood beside it while Olyvia climbed in and let it do its job. By the time everything was done, it was almost noon and time for lunch. Returning to the penthouse, Olyvia went straight to the kitchen and started making herself something to eat.

"You haven't said a word since you took the scan," Steve said, watching his fiancée in worry.

"I'm just thinking is all," Olyvia replied quietly.

Taking Olyvia into his arms, Steve gave her a kiss on her forehead, "We just have to trust Bruce will be able to find the problem and fix it, and everything will be fine again."

Olyvia nodded, but her fear was still evident. Steve couldn't deny he was scared too, scared of losing her. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle that, not now, not when he was so close to marrying this woman. Everything seemed to have been falling into place for it to occur, but now it was close to falling apart. Maybe if he kept telling himself everything would be fine, he would start believing it himself.

* * *

Back in California, Loki was trying to figure out these powers of his that were coming to light. Now that he had started getting the hang of controlling the ice when it sprouted out randomly, he began trying to create it on his own. His theory was, if he could figure out how to turn it on, he would be able to keep it off when he wanted, to keep it under control. Only it wasn't going very well for him. Dianne made him practice outside where there was less chance of him damaging the house, and he would stand out there for hours on end trying to figure it out. To keep Loki company, Dianne would go sit on the back deck, fifty feet from where Loki was practicing, and either read a book, play a game on her laptop, or work on one of her novel ideas with it. She would look up rather often from what she was doing, unless it was the game then she only looked up occasionally, and find something to comment on with what Loki was doing. It usually distracted him, and he would end up getting frustrated, and he'd have to start over again after reminding his wife he needed to concentrate. After days of this ritual, going later than a week, he still hadn't made any progress.

"Maybe you should try standing on your head," Dianne suggested.

"How would that work?" Loki asked dubiously.

Dianne shrugged, "I don't know, but maybe it would give you a different perspective on it."

Loki sighed in frustration, rolling his eyes. He didn't think Dianne was taking this as seriously as she should. She was always making jokes.

"Or…maybe it's just too warm to do it?" Dianne asked. Since it was summer, the typical high of the day was around seventy degrees.

"I doubt that is the issue," Loki replied, heading back over to the deck, "But must you make light of the situation? We both know it isn't."

Dianne sighed, "Sorry, it's just how I…cope. I don't handle stress well. If I don't try to lighten the situation, I get upset, and when I get upset, I am easily frustrated and when I get frustrated, I start yelling. I'm pretty sure you don't want me yelling at you."

"No," Loki replied quietly as he took a seat across from his wife, "Sorry, I didn't know. Though I guess I do the same thing."

"With the pranks? Yeah, I figured," Dianne said tersely.

"I thought they were funny," Loki said with a smirk.

"Tossing the cat into the shower with me isn't funny. Nor is hiding all the towels so I couldn't chase you down and kill you right away."

"I think that one was actually my favorite."

"Poor Nelly won't let you near her now."

"Oh, she still likes me," Loki assured her, "Unfortunately for me."

Dianne raised a critical eyebrow, "Right."

"So what are you doing now?" Loki asked, motioning to her laptop on her lap in order to change the subject.

"Oh, just doing some more typing," Dianne replied, "I'm having a bit of a writer's block though. I'm looking for a certain word, and it's just not coming. It's like…," she squeezed her eyes shut and started snapping her fingers as if that would help, "Ugh, it's on the tip of my tongue."

Loki's eyes widened in horror as flame began to appear and disappear with the snap of Dianne's fingers. How…the hell…was that happening.

"D-D-Dianne."

"Oh wait…I almost have it," Dianne said, "It's…it's…urgh, I lost it."

"Dianne, look at your hand," Loki said, before she could put it back down onto her laptop.

Wondering what was wrong with her hand to make Loki sound so panicked, she did just that, letting out a shriek when she saw flame surrounding her fingers and starting to spread. Using her other hand she set aside her laptop before she hurried off the deck and shoved her hand into the sand, hoping that would put it out. After waiting a few seconds, she removed it, and sighed in relief seeing it was gone.

"How did that happen?" she asked.

"All I know is you started snapping, and it started happening," Loki replied.

Pursing her lips together, she snapped her fingers and again a small flame ignited around her middle finger and thumb. She snapped again, and they were extinguished. A maniacal smile spread across her face, and Loki watched her in worry.

"I can create fire!"

Loki grimaced. Why did she sound so excited to be able to do that?

* * *

Olyvia was in the middle of a game of scrabble with Steve, Stark, and Pepper when her cell phone went off. They had all gotten bored, and decided to play a game until it got closer to dinnertime, which was only an hour away now. Looking at the caller I.D she saw it was Loki calling. She never got calls from him so she guessed it was an emergency.

"Hello?"

"Olyvia, it's Loki," Loki said, sounding very panicked.

"Hi Loki," Olyvia replied, her brow furrowing in confusion hearing how panicked he was, "Um… everything okay?"

Steve looked over at Olyvia curiously, wondering himself why Loki was calling.

"Did he and Dianne have a lovers spat?" Stark asked.

"He hasn't said anything yet Stark, so just shush so I can hear him."

"No, everything is _not_ okay," Loki replied, his voice starting to become shrill, "There is something wrong with your sister."

"Wrong how?" Olyvia asked in worry, "What's happening to her?"

"She can somehow now create fire," Loki replied, "And I don't think someone should be so happy about that fact!"

"Oh boy," Olyvia muttered, "Um…whatever you do, just keep her away from anything flammable. She will light it on fire."

"Who would do that though?" Loki asked, clearly freaking out. Olyvia guessed Dianne might have set a few things on fire already.

"She's a pyromaniac, she likes fire," Olyvia explained, "Oh the world is doomed."

"Why is the world doomed?" Stark asked.

Olyvia held up a finger, asking for a moment, "Loki, would it be possible for me to speak with Dianne?"

"Just…give me a moment," Loki replied.

Olyvia waited while Loki did just that, a few minutes later Dianne coming onto the phone.

"I'm assuming Loki told you what is going on."

"He has," Olyvia replied, "Are you alright though? Nothing other than the…spewing fire is going on?"

"Spewing fire?" Stark asked, "What the hell is happening over there?"

"No nothing else," Dianne replied, "And I have complete control over it."

"Already?" Olyvia asked in surprise.

"Yeah, already," Dianne replied, "I've been sort of…practicing the last hour or so. But it's so awesome! I'm a firebender!"

Olyvia dropped her head into her hand, "Don't tell me you've been trying out tricks from the show."

"Maaaaaaybe."

"You, are a dork."

"Hey, you would do it too if you suddenly had elemental powers."

Olyvia was silent, which made Dianne suspicious.

"Do you…have elemental powers now too?"

"Not entirely sure yet," Olyvia replied, "Bruce just started running tests, I won't hear anything for a few days. Speaking of tests though, perhaps _you_ should come over here and get some yourself, see why you suddenly have another ability."

"I guess you have a point. Hmm…do you think Rosemary might be having similar…side effects?"

"I don't know, but that is a good question, you should call her and ask."

"Wait, why do I have to call?"

"You're in the same time zone, and I'm in the middle of a scrabble game," Olyvia replied, "So anyway, I'll talk to you later. Bye!"

Dianne tried arguing, but Olyvia hung up before she could get many words out. Stark waited until she put her phone back in her pocket before trying again to ask a question.

"So…what was that about?"

Olyvia strummed her fingers against the coffee table they were sitting at, "Well um…Dianne somehow has another power. She's now calling herself a firebender."

"A what?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Sweet," was Stark's comment.

"She can create fire now," Olyvia explained to Steve, "But she's the lucky one, she can actually control it, unlike whatever is happening to me."

Steve reached over and wrapped his hand around hers, giving it a consoling squeeze. Olyvia was too depressed though for it to do any good, and set her head down onto the coffee table, resting it on her other hand.

"So…is she going to be coming over here too then? To have Bruce find out how that happened?" Stark asked.

Olyvia shrugged, "I suggested she do that, but she didn't say whether she would or not. I'm sure she'll think about it."

Stark nodded, then added a few seconds later, "So what was that you were saying about Rosemary again?"

"Well…if Dianne and I are both having these issues, there may be a chance Rosemary is having, or will have them too."

Stark furrowed his brow as the thought, "Hmmm…it'd definitely be crazy here with you three girls. But Rosemary is out of school, so if you are concerned, she should probably come and have Bruce check up on her. What would cause this sudden addition to your abilities though?"

"She's not out of school yet," Olyvia said blandly.

Stark, who was messing around with his letter tiles, sent two flying off into the glass window, "What? Who is in school this late in the year?"

"Her high school," Olyvia said, "They start second week of August, and end second week of June."

"That gives you like…no summer!"

"Yeah," Olyvia grimaced, "I hated it, but the school board said that we got more 'vacation time' during the school year. I'd rather have a longer summer, but being a kid, I had no say."

"I'd rather have a longer summer too," Stark muttered, "Okay, your school is evil, and we need to do something about it."

"We?" Steve asked.

"What, you're not going to help?" Stark asked incredulously, "Where is your heart?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "It's just a school, it's not that big of a deal."

"I'm sure Rosemary would like to see you though," Olyvia said to Stark to change the subject, "She's rather fond of you, and it's been a while since you last talked to her."

Stark started getting antsy, sweating a little as he glanced over to Pepper then down at the coffee table.

"We…talked last week," Stark said, "She called me telling me about the engagement. Mainly to tell me she won the bet and wanted her money, but we talked nonetheless, so it really hasn't been that long."

"Oh…I didn't know that. Well, I'm sure she'd still like coming over to visit. She'd have a ball with your robots, which I think are adorable by the way."

Stark made a face. He clearly wasn't too fond of the robots despite being the one who created them.

"So…are we calling the game quits?" Steve asked since no one seemed to be interested in playing anymore.

"I vote yes," Olyvia said, "Let's get some dinner started. Stark go get the tiles you threw."

Stark mumbled under his breath as he got to his feet and walked over to the window to find the tiles as Steve went ahead and dumped the others in the bag to put the game away. Pepper got to her feet, and asked if Olyvia would help her make dinner, which she agreed to.

"Your fiancée better not poison us," Stark said as he dropped the two tiles into the bag Steve held out to him.

"She's not going to poison us," Steve said, "Poison _you_, maybe, but not everyone."

Stark frowned, "I meant as in not being able to cook the food properly."

"I'd only worry about that if _you_ were cooking."

"I happen to cook just fine, thank you very much," Stark said, "I've never had cooking by your fiancée so I'm being cautious."

Steve sighed in frustration, but said nothing else. It was not worth it, keeping Stark talking. It was only day one of living there, and already Stark was annoying the hell out of Steve. These next few weeks they'd be living there were going to be the longest of Steve's life. If he didn't want to throw himself off the top of the tower by the end of the week, Steve would call that an accomplishment.

* * *

Since Dianne was tasked by her sister to call Rosemary, she went ahead and called so she could get it done and over with. Of course, Dianne first had to explain what was going on with her, and Rosemary wouldn't stop talking for nearly twenty minutes about how neat it was that she could pretty much bend fire at her will, and then how the world was doomed because the pyromaniac had powers over fire, and then going on about the martial art styles used for the different bending elements in their favorite show.

"Midget! Midget! MIDGET!" Dianne shouted into the phone, startling Loki from where he sat at the other side of the couch in their living room.

"Whaaa-aaaat?" Rosemary finally voicing that she heard her sister.

"Now are you experiencing anything…weird like that?" Dianne asked, "Doing things your powers aren't related to?"

Rosemary was, for once, silent as she thought. It was only a few moments later though that she started talking again, "No…I don't think so. Do you think I should try creating fire? Or bending water? Or earth? Or air? Or all four! What if I'm the Avatar?"

Dianne groaned, "Rosemary, you are not the Avatar. Just calm down. There's a good chance you won't have another ability, that you're stuck with your two."

"But it'd be so unfair! Wait…does that mean Livy has another too?"

"Sounds like it."

"What is it?"

"They don't know," Dianne replied, "Bruce is running tests to see if he can find out. Livy suggested I go see him as well, see if our problems are related."

"Should I go too?"

"You're not out of school yet."

"Almost though! I just have a few more days, at the end of this week! Then I'll officially be a Senior."

Dianne whimpered. How did her sister grow up without her noticing? And _when_?

"If anything weird happens, let me know and then we'll see about whether you should go to New York as well. Okay?"

"Okay, that sounds good," Rosemary agreed.

Saying their goodbyes, they hung up, and Dianne leaned back into the couch. Loki cautiously inched closer to his wife, afraid she just might spontaneously combust into flame if he got too close. Looking over at him she smiled and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Loki's neck as she cuddled up against his chest. He was much more tense than usual.

"I think we'll be going to New York soon," Dianne informed him.

"Try to get some answers?" Loki asked.

Dianne nodded, "I have so many questions now. The main one though is…how? How did this happen? My whole life I've only been able to use two powers. How am I suddenly able to have another?"

"Let's hope Dr. Banner can find those answers," Loki said.

Dianne nodded in agreement. She was confident though in her comrade that he'd be able to do just that.

* * *

It was a few days later that Bruce informed Olyvia he had results back from the blood test, and the PET scan. Olyvia was terrified to go see what they were, and just stood in front of the elevator, trying to muster the courage to step in and head to Bruce's lab.

"Livy, you know I'm right here for you," Steve said once he couldn't take the waiting anymore.

"I know, it's just…I'm scared," Olyvia said, "And I'm wondering…do I even want you to hear what is wrong with me? It'll just make you stress even more, and fret, and worry, and I don't want that."

Steve took Olyvia's face in his hands and turned it so she was looking up at him, "Livy, we're in this together. The ring on your finger is a sign of my commitment to you, and I'm going to stay with you every step of the way. I don't want you to feel alone in this."

"I'm still scared though."

"So am I," Steve admitted, "But we'll get through this."

Olyvia nodded, and Steve gave her a kiss to try help her relax, which it did, and they finally got into the elevator. A minute or so later, they entered Bruce's lab, and he was sitting in front of one of his computers, the concerned expression on his face as he studied the PET Scan on it not offering any comfort to Olyvia. Steve felt her stiffen, and he gave her hand another consoling squeeze, to remind her he was there.

"Oh, there you are," Bruce said as they approached him, finally noticing their arrival as they took a seat, "I uh…I don't have that great of news."

Olyvia sighed sorrowfully, "When do I ever hear good news?"

"Seven months ago when you destroyed the Tesseract, you remember me running those tests on you to see whether there was any damage done from the gamma radiation?" Bruce questioned.

Olyvia nodded, "You said there had been some damage, but it was cell mutation you were worried about and that wasn't happening."

Bruce pursed his lips, lowering his gaze, and Olyvia's stomach dropped, the blood draining from her face. She looked over to Steve in horror, to see he looked just as panicked.

"It's…it's happening now isn't it?" Olyvia asked quietly, unable to look Bruce in the eye.

The scientist nodded, "The reason I didn't catch it before was because it was a slow process. There was minimal change when you returned home, and you wouldn't have noticed the differences until recently. The mutation rate is increasing though, but because this is gamma radiation…I may not be able to stop or even slow the process."

Olyvia choked back a sob as she slapped a hand over her mouth, crumpling over in her seat. Cell mutation was a bad thing, and it pretty much meant she was dying, unless it was doing something else completely different to her.

"Do you…do you know what the mutation is?" Olyvia asked once she swallowed her tears.

"It's changing your physical DNA," Bruce explained, "I haven't had much time to look at it, I've been looking over the PET Scan. Despite received damage, the activity of your brain has expanded, which I believe is what has been increasing the mutation rate."

Olyvia looked down at her hands, remembering what happened after Amora attacked her the second time.

"So I'm…turning into something else?" Olyvia asked quietly.

"Your physical makeup, yes," Bruce said.

"Which means what?" Olyvia just about shouted, starting to become frustrated that he wasn't explaining things to where she understood them.

"Livy," Steve said soothingly in attempt to calm her down.

"I'm sorry I can't give you better answers Olyvia," Bruce apologized, "But I'm still working on it. When I find something, I'll let you know right away."

Olyvia nodded numbly, just staring ahead as she got up and headed back to the elevator. Steve quickly got to his feet and said a brief thank you to Bruce for the work he had done already before hurrying to Olyvia's side. She tried keeping a brave façade, but it shattered as she crumpled to the floor of the elevator in a bout of sobs once the doors closed. Steve dropped down to his knees to wrap his arms around her to try to comfort her.

"Livy, please don't cry," Steve whispered. It just killed him seeing her like this.

"I-I can't," Olyvia sobbed, "You heard what Bruce said. Steve…I-I'm turning into something else. I w-won't be myself anymore, and that is c-c-coming too soon. And who's to say it won't k-kill me?"

"Don't say that," Steve said, "It's not going to happen. I won't allow that to happen. We'll find a way to stop this."

"How?"

"With help," Steve replied, "So don't give up on me Olyvia, you need to be strong."

"I've been trying to be strong for so long, I can't do it anymore," Olyvia said barely above a whisper, "This…this is just too much."

"But you're not alone," Steve said, "You don't have just me with you, but everyone else. You can pull through this Olyvia, just don't give up on me. I can't bear to lose you."

With a sob, Olyvia threw her arms around Steve, nearly crushing him in a hug.

"Thank you for always being here for me," she sobbed.

"Of course," Steve whispered into her ear, "I love you Olyvia."

"I love you too."

* * *

Once Olyvia and Steve had left the lab, Bruce immediately went back to work. He was determined to figure out what exactly was going on, and finding a solution to the problem. Olyvia wasn't just a comrade, she was a friend as well, and he wanted to help her. So he immersed himself in his work, telling himself he wasn't going to take a break until he found something to give a clue as to what was going on. Hours later, long after the sun had set, Bruce was starting to suffer from the effects of exhaustion when he noticed something in the PET Scan he had missed hundreds of times before, the missing piece to this puzzle. And it wasn't good.

"Oh my god."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! Just finished this chapter, so if there are errors, I apologize. **

**Loki Lover: Thank you! And I hurried! I really did!**

**Xandrea: But cliffhangers are so fun! Ahem…anyway, don't worry, Rosemary won't be left out.**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: I don't think I'll be including him or any other mutants. Unless I have a brilliant idea where they are involved.**

**harrylee94: I'm expecting another explosion from you at the end of this chapter. And you'll see what Rosemary has in this chapter. As for James, that will come in the next installment.**

**Katie Loom: I do write long chapters. I try to average out about 9 pages a chapter. Single spaced. And yay! Someone thinks I'm funny!**

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Olyvia had started to finally get used to the Eastern time again, but that didn't mean she could be woken up at six in the morning. She and Steve were dead asleep, when Stark came running into their room, screaming to high heaven that Bruce needed to see Olyvia. Steve jolted awake, while Olyvia merely mumbled and rolled over. Steve tried to get Stark to leave the room so Steve could wake Olyvia gently, but apparently it was such an emergency, they didn't have the time and Stark jumped onto the bed, continuing to jump up and down on it.

"LIVY! GET UP!" Stark shouted.

Being the smart one at the moment, Steve got off the bed as quickly as he could and moved to the far wall. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"What the hell?" Olyvia asked as she finally woke and sat up, "Stark! Why are you in my room?"

"Technically it's my room because I own the building," Stark rebutted, "But you need to get up! Bruce needs to see you right away."

Olyvia looked over to the alarm clock, and her eyes narrowed into a death glare. Steve started inching his way to the door, he could already see what was going to happen.

"Stark…there is _nothing_ in this world, not even my imminent demise, that requires waking me up at six on a day I do not have school, or work," Olyvia seethed.

"But it's about your condition!" Stark tried arguing.

"Doesn't matter!" Olyvia shrieked, grabbing one of Steve's pillows and chucking it at Stark, hitting him in the face so hard he fell over, "I like my sleep, and I'm a huge grump when I don't get my sleep!"

"No kidding," Stark muttered, as he started to climb off the bed.

He didn't get far though before Olyvia kicked him off, a lot harder than Stark expected and he went somersaulting across the room, almost rolling into Steve.

"Ow…"

"I warned you about this yesterday," Steve said.

Sitting up, Stark looked back over to Olyvia to see her burrowing herself back under the covers, muttering about something, he couldn't tell what she was saying, but it was obvious she was seething mad.

"Bruce will be expecting you…whenever you get up," Stark said as he got to his feet and headed out of the room.

Steve stood where he was near the door for a few moments, looking to it and the bed a few times before deciding to go ahead and get dressed for a workout in the gym until later in the morning, when it was safer to speak with Olyvia and try to get her up. As he walked over to the dresser to grab his clothes, he froze when Olyvia poked her head out from under the blankets.

"I'm leaving so you can sleep," Steve said.

"Stark is evil, and evil must be vanquished," Olyvia muttered, noticeably still half asleep. That usually happened when she was suddenly woken up, "But after we sleep, cannot function properly without sleep. And then we will properly dispose of him."

Steve smiled endearingly at her, and crossed over to the bed to give her a kiss on her forehead, "Go back to sleep dearest. I'll be back later to go with you to Dr. Banner's lab."

"And then you'll help me with Stark?"

"Hmm…sounds tempting so maybe," Steve replied, "You sleep though. Love you. See you later."

Olyvia again muttered something unintelligible as she disappeared under the covers. Moving to the dresser again, Steve quickly grabbed his change of gym clothes as well as day clothes and hurried out of the bedroom. He wasn't planning on coming back until nine o'clock at least, give Olyvia plenty more time to sleep. He wanted to keep his head.

* * *

After two hours in the gym, Steve showered and changed again into his day clothes, glad he thought to grab them as well so he wouldn't chance disturbing Olyvia again by walking back into the room. He spent the remaining time in the penthouse, and just to be on the safe side, waited until 9:30 to go back and see if Olyvia would get up now. Entering the bedroom, he sat down next to the lump on the bed, the top of his fiancée's head barely poking out from under the blankets so she wouldn't have smothered herself. Pulling the blanket down just slightly to uncover the rest of her head, Steve caressed the side of her face with the back of his hand, trying to gently wake her, instead of what Stark did with jumping onto the bed that morning.

"Livy…dearest, you really should get up to see Dr. Banner now," Steve whispered into her ear when he bent over to rest his forehead against the top of her head.

He felt her shift slightly, and lifted his head so she could move around freely. She merely rolled more to her left, almost turning over onto her stomach, and stayed asleep. Seeing that didn't work, Steve continued to try to rouse her from her dead-like sleep, until finally seven minutes later she finally showed signs of life.

"Since you're my fiancé, and I love you, I'm going to give you the chance to run if it's not at least nine o'clock when I open my eyes," Olyvia muttered, rolling over onto her back, but leaving her eyes closed.

"I expect married life with you is going to be interesting," Steve said laughingly.

"Maybe I'll mellow out a little," Olyvia said, she was still obviously really tired, "And you had your chance, I'm opening my eyes now."

Blinking her eyes open, she first looked over to the alarm clock, and was pleased to see it was past 9:40. Turning her gaze to Steve she smiled.

"Thank you for letting me sleep."

"Well, I know better than to try to get you up when you don't want to," Steve said, "But I am worried about what Dr. Banner found, so if you're ready to go, we should."

Olyvia nodded, "I just need a few minutes to…wake up more, and then get dressed."

So Steve waited patiently while Olyvia worked to keep her eyes open and herself up into a sitting position. Once she was sitting up though, Steve looked at her in confusion as she stared at her hands, and began touching the tips of her fingers to her thumb.

"Everything okay?"

"My fingers are numb," Olyvia said, "At least the tips. I can't feel anything."

Steve reached over and took hold of one of her hands, cringing when the ice-cold temperature hit his skin and quickly pulled away. That again. They never seemed to warm up ever, just becoming progressively colder over the last few weeks. The pit in Steve's stomach grew heavier. It was getting worse, wasn't it? Whatever was happening, it was getting worse. He knew Dr. Banner had said the mutation rate had increased, but he didn't think it would happen that fast.

"Did I hurt you?" Olyvia asked, seeing him cringe, "I'm sorry."

"No, it didn't hurt," Steve assured her, "Just…really cold, it was unexpected."

Olyvia pressed her fingers against her cheek, "They don't seem that cold."

Steve's stomach felt like lead now. That definitely wasn't a good sign.

"We need to see Dr. Banner now," Steve said, getting to his feet, "I'll wait for you in the other room while you get dressed."

He stepped out of the bedroom and Olyvia slid out from under the covers, staring at her feet as she set them down on the floor. She stared at them for a few seconds before reaching down and wrapping her hands around her toes. She couldn't feel any difference in temperature. Sitting back up, she sighed sorrowfully as she looked at her hands again. That meant whatever was happening to her, was starting out in her limbs, and she was guessing working its way in.

Doing her best to push her worries aside, she got up and changed into a simple purple t-shirt and jeans, and slipped on a pair of flip-flops to walk around in. Heading out into the small living area of their room, she walked over to Steve and linked her arm around his. The two didn't say a word to each other as they headed out and to Bruce's lab, both were too worried about what he may have found. Reaching the lab, Steve frowned when he saw Stark was there too.

"Why are you here?" Steve asked.

"Ah, so Sleepy Beauty finally awakes," Stark said to Olyvia, ignoring Steve's question, "Or is it the Beast awakes?"

"I think you know the answer," Olyvia replied tersely, before turning her attention to Bruce, "So you found something?"

Bruce removed his glasses and set them down on the table, his countenance grim, "Energy, for lack of a better word."

"Energy? And that's…bad?"

"When you destroyed the Tesseract, it not only released gamma radiation, but its energy," Bruce explained, "And your body somehow absorbed it. That or…"

"Or what?" Olyvia and Steve asked in unison.

"Or it claimed your body as its host," Bruce finished, "From studying the Tesseract before, we knew it was sentient, it is very possible it could do that. Its body was the cube, but when it was destroyed, it had to find a new host. And you were closest."

Olyvia dropped her head and just stared at the floor in horror, her whole body going numb from this news. It made sense though. When Amora pulled that energy from her body, it reminded Olyvia of the Tesseract's energy, from when Thanos used it to power himself. Being aliens though, the gamma radiation in its energy probably didn't affect them the way it did humans. And that must be why Amora was after her, for the Tesseract's power.

"So does that explain the mutation too?" Olyvia asked, not lifting her gaze.

"That is the gamma radiation," Bruce replied, "But the actual energy of the Tesseract is helping it along, like it is trying to take full possession over you."

Olyvia snapped her head up, her eyes filled with fear, "Possession? That…that—."

"How do we stop it?" Steve asked.

"I don't know," Bruce replied morosely, then quickly added, "But I will work on it. Stark and I both will."

"Maybe we should just hand me over to Amora," Olyvia said.

Everyone whipped their heads around to look at her, their eyes wide in surprise.

"Livy, that's crazy, she'd only kill you!" Steve exclaimed.

"It's the Tesseract she wants, its energy, its power," Olyvia rebutted, looking Steve in the eye, "It was that she drew from my body when she attacked me last month."

"And you were severely weakened," Steve argued, "So no! You're not going to do something stupid like that. We don't want her having that power anyway!"

"I want it out of me Steve!" Olyvia shouted, tears spilling over her eyes, "I want it out!"

Dropping her head into her hands, she began to sob, not caring that there were others to see her crying. Almost instantly she felt Steve's arms around her.

"I don't even think that would work," Bruce said, referring to Olyvia's suggestion, "It's become a part of you now, removing it completely…would most likely kill you."

"This just gets worse and worse," Olyvia sobbed.

"Then how are we ever going to cure her?" Steve asked.

Bruce walked over to Steve and placed a hand on his shoulder, "We'll find something. That's all I had for now, and I assume Olyvia wishes to be elsewhere."

Steve nodded, lifted Olyvia to her feet and led her out the door. He stopped when they reached the elevator, turning Olyvia to face him before pulling her into a crushing hug, burying his face in her hair.

"Please don't cry," Steve whispered.

"How can I not?" Olyvia asked quietly, "You know what Bruce said only means one thing right? I'm dying, that's the simple explanation for all of this. I'm dying Steve, how can I not cry over that?"

"Don't say that," Steve said, "Please don't say that. There's always a chance—."

"Chance of what?" Olyvia interrupted, lifting her head to look Steve in the eye to see tears on his face, "Steve…"

"I can't lose you too," Steve said, "I don't even want to think about it, it hurts too much."

Olyvia reached up and wiped the tears from Steve's face, forgetting how cold her hands were until he flinched slightly.

"Sorry," she apologized, dropping her hands, "And I'm sorry for being so pessimistic. It's just…little has been going well for me. You are the one thing that has, and…and I might lose you too. It's so much to handle."

"I've said before, we can get through this," Steve said, "No matter how bad things get, we can."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Olyvia dropped her head against Steve's chest and did her best to keep her tears at bay. As much as she wanted to believe that, it was getting harder and harder to do so.

* * *

"Well that went…rather bumpily," Stark commented after Steve and Olyvia left the lab.

"I didn't expect it to go any differently," Bruce said, "All I've been able to find is more bad news on Olyvia's condition. It's not looking good Stark. The mutation could be complete by August, and whether that will just change her or kill her…I don't know."

"I'm sure we'll find something by then," Stark said.

"Stark…think about it for a moment," Bruce began, "I was affected by gamma radiation, and turned into that…other guy. I tried looking for a cure for it, but nothing ever worked, not for long. We don't know if she even _can_ be cured. I try to be positive, to at least give hope to them, but I have trouble believing it myself."

"Well for starters, you, as the Hulk, are invincible, practically, while Livy, is not," Stark replied, "So I'm sure something would work on her. So perhaps you should start looking into the methods you tried on yourself for her."

Stark moved over to a monitor and started scrolling through the data Bruce had already collected, glancing over to his colleague a few moments later to find him deep in thought.

"Don't give yourself an aneurism."

"I was just thinking…we know Dianne is having weird things happening with her, but not to such an extreme degree," Bruce said, "If she could come here, I could run similar tests as I have with Olyvia, and see that way if there is a way to tone down Olyvia's side effects."

"Dianne was caught in the blast from the Tesseract when Livy destroyed it," Stark said, "I wouldn't be surprised if radiation was the reason for her sudden firebending abilities," he then paused as a look of realization crossed his face, "Rosemary was also hit by it."

"But we haven't heard of any odd activity from her."

"She should still be checked out," Stark said, reaching into his pocket for his phone as he walked to the door, "Excuse me for a moment, I have a few calls to make."

* * *

Once Dianne got off the phone with Stark, she told Loki they had to go to New York before grabbing her laptop and purchasing plane tickets. She was in a rush to get there hearing that things had only gotten worse for Olyvia, and that being there could offer Bruce a chance to find a way to help Olyvia. She was in a bit of a panic hearing Olyvia's condition had only gotten worse, and if she could help, she would be there. Her sister would do the same for her.

Booking the next available flight, she and Loki packed their luggage, and when it came time for them to leave, drove to the airport. A few layovers, and a handful of hours later, they arrived in New York City, and having informed Stark of their arrival, had a ride waiting for them already. Dianne was fretting so much, she had to fidget to spend her energy, which was driving Loki crazy. After fifteen minutes of trying to merge into traffic, Loki snapped his hand out and grabbed Dianne's hand on her knee to stop her bouncing her leg and strumming her fingers against it.

"Dianne, we're in New York, we're almost to the Tower, you'll see your sister in a little," Loki said, "So please. Stop. Fidgeting."

"I'm not fidgeting," Dianne said, only to have Loki give her a look, "Okay…maybe a little."

"Maybe a lot."

"I'm worried about Livy, can you blame me? She's my sister."

"You just have to trust that she'll be fine," Loki said.

Dianne nodded, and moved her hand to on top of Loki's, giving his a tight squeeze. Olyvia was always able to pull through whatever crap she had been through, and she had been through a lot that was nowhere near easy. This would just be another to add to her…rather long list.

Almost forty minutes later the two finally arrived at Stark Tower.

"Never thought I'd be back here," Loki muttered as he stared up at the building, cocking his head to the side when he saw only a letter A at the top of the building, "From how I characterized Stark, I would have expected him to fix that."

Dianne craned her head up to look at the A, "Huh?"

"I sort of…broke that…last time I was here," Loki said, "Though…it wasn't all me, the Chitauri were also to blame, but that's a story for another time, I'm sure you'd like to get inside and see your sister."

Dianne nodded, and grabbed Loki's hand as she bolted towards the doors. JARVIS greeted them as they walked in, Dianne jumping when he spoke while Loki wasn't affected by the sudden voice. Going straight to the elevator, they were brought up to the penthouse. It wasn't too late in the evening so everyone was still up as they arrived. Dianne had just enough time to place her luggage down before her sister nearly tackled her in a hug.

"I've missed you," Olyvia said.

"Missed you too," Dianne wheezed, "But geez you are freezing!"

"And you are burning up," Olyvia rebutted, releasing her sister and took a step back, "Uh…no pun intended. I hope that isn't an effect of your…new fire abilities."

Dianne shrugged, "I don't know, maybe since you are affected by…whatever is going on with you. Are you turning into the Abominable Snowman?"

"Feels like it," Olyvia muttered.

"So I'm guessing…asking you how you're doing is a rhetorical question."

Olyvia nodded, "Pretty much. I've spent the last few days wallowing in my grief and eating ice cream. You know, just the usual thing you do when you're depressed."

"I'm sure you'll be fine Livy," Dianne said, reaching out and placing her hands on her sister's shoulders.

"That's what everyone has been telling me."

To get her sisters mind off her problems, she looked down to her hand, "Now, I know you sent me a picture, but it's not the same thing so may I have a looksee?"

Knowing what she was referring to, Olyvia lifted her left hand so her sister could see the engagement ring.

"Ooh, pretty. Steve did good," Dianne commented, grabbing her sisters hand to get a closer look.

She didn't hold on long though, yelping as she whipped her hands back, while Olyvia pulled her hand away.

"Ow! Ha-ha-ha-hot!" Olyvia said shrilly as she fanned her hand about in the air, "Okay, don't touch me!"

"You don't touch me!" Dianne rebutted, punching her sister in the shoulder.

Olyvia retaliated by slapping at her sister's arm, who then started slapping back, both growling disgruntledly at each other. Loki sighed and dropped his luggage to slap his hand to his forehead. Those two were really childish at times. Definitely sisters though.

"Okay, I think that's enough you two," Steve said, coming over and grabbing Olyvia around her waist to pull her away.

"Odd isn't it that you're the icicle now," Dianne said to her sister.

"And _you're_ the human furnace," Olyvia added, "Wasn't it the other way around just eight months ago? Somewhere around there?"

"Wait…Dianne was having your side-effects that long ago?" Steve asked in confusion.

"I think some explaining needs to be done here Livy," Dianne said.

Olyvia nodded, "No Steve, she was not having my side effects, but Dianne was always cold, complaining that she was never warm enough. I was a natural heat source it seemed and she would always come over and tell me to feel how cold her hands were and I'd end up holding her hands until they warmed up. Now we're switched."

"And I can create fire!" Dianne said excitedly, holding out a hand and creating a small ball of flame in the palm of her hand.

"No fire in the penthouse!" Stark cried out, running over with a fire extinguisher and aimed it at Dianne's hand, "I will use this."

Dianne extinguished the flame and dropped her hand back down to her side, "Hello to you too Stark. Long time no see."

"It's only been about two months, not that long of a time."

Dianne rolled her eyes, "Whatever. So when is Midget showing up? I heard you say you were going to have her come too?"

Olyvia grimaced, "Midget is coming too? Great, all three of us in one place again. We'll see if the tower can remain standing a week."

Stark looked over at Olyvia in worry from what she said before turning back to Dianne, "I'll be picking her up in a few days, with my private jet. I'm not going to fly all the way to California with my suit and carry her all the way back, so don't worry."

"You're going to go pick her up while _I_ had to buy my own ticket and take the commercial airlines?" Dianne asked incredulously, "Well someone obviously has a favorite."

"Well, maybe if you had asked, I might have considered picking you up as well."

"Like I'd ask," Dianne muttered, "Anyway…I assume there is a room for Loki and I to stay?"

"Pep? Would you like to take the newlyweds to their room?"

Getting up from her seat, she motioned for the two to follow her. Picking up their luggage, they did just that.

"So…where's Bruce?" Dianne asked as they headed down another hallway, "I didn't see him."

"I believe he's still in his lab," Pepper replied, "Poor guy hardly ever leaves, though I understand why. He's very determined to find a way to help your sister."

"I'm glad to hear it. So I'll be seeing him tomorrow then I guess."

Pepper nodded, "Though I'm sure he's still working I'm sure you two don't want to stay up too late."

Dianne looked at her watch, telling her the time back in California. She had a feeling she'd be up late anyway.

* * *

"Can you sleep?" Dianne asked into the darkness.

"No," was her husband's reply.

Dianne looked over to her right at the nightstand to look at the time on the alarm clock there. Eleven forty-four. It was still around eight o'clock back home. With a frustrated groan, Dianne flopped over onto her stomach, burying her face into her pillow.

"I want to sleep!" Dianne lamented.

"Maybe if you stop talking, that might help," Loki suggested.

"I haven't been talking, and I still haven't been able to fall asleep," Dianne rebutted, "Jet lag sucks."

She didn't remain in her current position long, starting to smother herself so she flopped over again, this time on her left side so she was facing Loki, who sighed heavily hearing her moving around again.

"Can't you stay still?" Loki asked.

"I thought you'd know that answer by now," Dianne said, "I move around a bit before I get comfortable and then I stay put. You should feel lucky you don't have to sleep with Olyvia, she flails about like a fish out of water."

"I'll stop complaining then."

Reaching out with her hands, Dianne found her husband and that he was lying on his back so she went ahead and scooted closer, draping an arm over his stomach as she rested her head on his shoulder, squishing her left arm in-between them. She didn't care though, she wanted to be close.

"I'll definitely stop complaining," Loki whispered, and she felt him kiss the top of her head.

But after laying there for a few minutes, Dianne's arm was starting to hurt from crushing it, and she rolled back over, this time onto her right side, so she could squish the other arm for a while. Loki sighed.

"You're not going to fall asleep anytime soon either Loki," Dianne said.

She heard and felt him moving around as well, before then feeling his body form around her back, slithering an arm around her stomach and pulling her even closer. She smiled when Loki brushed her hair out of the way so he could give her a kiss at the base of her jawline.

"Maybe now I can," Loki whispered, burrowing his face against her neck.

Dianne moved her left arm so it was resting on top of Loki's, her fingers tracing lazy circles on his hand, "I love you."

"And I love you," Loki replied, "Now do try to sleep my love, else I will have to resort to certain measures to put you to sleep."

Dianne's brow furrowed in confusion, "But…you don't have your magic so how exactly would that work?"

Loki moved his hand, slowly pulling up on her t-shirt she wore for pajamas, "I don't need magic."

Dianne's face flushed red and she tucked her head down to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut, "Sleeping!"

"I thought that would work," Loki said with a sigh, "Alas, my wife is no longer attracted to me."

"Okay, you so know that is not true," Dianne said, rolling over so she could look at her husband, pointing a finger to the bridge of his nose. Since her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she could barely make out his face, but at least she could see him.

Loki grabbed her hand and moved it out of his way before crashing his lips against hers.

"I know that," Loki replied breathlessly once he pulled away, "But I also knew it would get you to turn around."

Leaning in, he kissed her gently this time, making Dianne shudder and melt into a puddle right there on the bed. It was really infuriating that he still managed to do this to her, and with such simple kisses. It was so unfair! She never was able to have that effect on him.

"What, so you could kiss me into a stupor until you can have your way with me?" Dianne asked, her words slurred slightly.

Since he was so close, she could feel him smile rather than see it, "No, that wasn't my intention, but if that happens, I most definitely will not complain."

Dianne snorted in laughter, "Of course not."

"But in all honesty Dianne," Loki began, his cool fingers gently caressing her face, "I wanted your face to be the last thing I saw before falling asleep, so that my dreams will be of you."

Dianne couldn't help but chuckle, "I see you haven't lost that silver tongue of yours."

"It's the truth though!"

"And you're sweet," Dianne said, giving him a kiss this time, "Which is why I love you."

Loki smiled again, "And I love you."

He kissed her again, and continued kissing her until he had her just where he wanted, and proceeded to show her just how much he loved her.

* * *

It wasn't until eleven o'clock that Dianne and Loki ventured back out into the penthouse, Loki appearing more awake than Dianne. She had at least had the energy to change into day clothes. Olyvia grabbed her before she could get into the kitchen though, telling her Bruce wanted to take blood before she ate anything. Grumbling, Dianne followed her sister to Bruce's lab, Loki accompanying his wife. Once there, Bruce explained the situation to Dianne so she could better understand what was going on, then took her blood. They were about to leave when Dianne stopped, and asked Bruce if he could also run some tests on Loki, see what was going on with him, but as a secondary priority. She knew her sister needed Bruce's help more. Bruce agreed to at least take his blood, run the same tests he would to Dianne's, see what it told him, and then put it on the shelf for the time being. So after Loki had his blood drawn, it was back to the penthouse.

It was easy to tell Olyvia was already feeling better having her sister around. She was smiling and laughing more often instead of moping around the tower. It helped Steve relax a little, not having the sole duty of trying to keep up Olyvia's spirits. While she and Dianne spent time catching up, Steve spent his time doing his own thing and talking with Loki. He figured Loki felt rather out of place here, since he had really no one other than him to talk to. During the time they lived together in California, he and Loki had become friends, so they both preferred hanging out together rather than suffering through Stark's company.

A few days later, and no news from Bruce other than Dianne's blood test results, which didn't offer much, Stark went to pick up Rosemary. Dianne also underwent a PET Scan that day and a few other tests, showing off her fire abilities to Bruce, Olyvia, and Steve. Loki was also watching, but from further away in the room.

"Maybe we should call you sparky-sparky boom girl," Olyvia said once Dianne finished.

"I can't bend fire with my mind," Dianne said, pointing to her head, "So no."

"Well, have you tried?" Olyvia asked.

Dianne pursed her lips, since she had not, in fact, tried.

"Well uh…no, I haven't," Dianne muttered in reply, "But you still can't call me that."

"Combustion Woman?"

"No."

Olyvia sighed, "You take the fun out of everything."

"So this only started around a week ago?" Bruce asked, interrupting the sisterly spat.

Dianne nodded, "But I was able to easily get a handle on it. What is your guess as to what caused it?"

"I'm guessing it's the radiation," Bruce replied, "It affected your brain the same way as Olyvia's, only not as severe of a case, thus more easily opening you to another ability to use. Even before the radiation damage, I said you and your sisters were capable of learning more abilities. You just had to figure out how to, essentially, unlock certain areas of your brain."

"Huh…so the radiation just…unlocked it for us then," Dianne said, "So what can Olyvia do?"

Bruce shrugged, so Dianne turned to her sister.

"Don't ask me either, I have no clue."

"You're the one affected though."

"But I haven't done any…bending stuff like you," Olyvia said, "My body temperature has just dropped, starting in my extremities. Nothing special."

"Maybe you're turning into a reptile," Dianne suggested, "Cold blooded you know?"

Olyvia glared at her sister, "Ha, very funny. No, I doubt a reptile would get as cold as my fingers and toes are. Bruce said I could give any of you frostbite if I placed my hands on any of your for longer than a few minutes, it's _that_ bad."

Dianne pursed her lips, thinking for a few seconds before saying, "An iceberg then?"

"Why an iceberg?"

"Because you're bigger than any average girl."

"I'm going to hurt you."

"Now don't go running into any ships," Dianne continued to tease.

"Okay! That's it!"

Steve reached out and grabbed Olyvia by the crook of her elbow to hold her back before she did anything to her sister.

"I think it's time to go," Loki said, walking over and grabbing his wife by her arms and steering her towards the door, "We are done, right?"

Bruce nodded, and Loki took Dianne out of the room, Olyvia and Steve following behind, him moving his arm so it was linked with Olyvia's instead of holding her there with his hand.

"You know…what Dianne said sort of made sense," Olyvia said, since Loki and Dianne were further ahead and out of hearing range.

"How so?"

"Well…why else would my body be so cold?" Olyvia asked, "Maybe that's the mutation, turning me into…ice."

"If it were, wouldn't you be that way already?" Steve asked.

Now Olyvia was puzzled again, "I guess you're right…I guess we'll have to see what Bruce finds."

_If he'd be able to find anything_, she couldn't help but add in her mind.

* * *

Stark returned the next day with a talkative Rosemary in tow. Stark didn't seem to mind all her chatter, but that was probably because he shared the same affinity talking a lot and it didn't bother him so much. Rosemary hardly stopped for a breath before letting out a squeal when she saw Olyvia and took off like a shot across the room, throwing herself at her sister. Of course, milliseconds after making contact she leapt backwards.

"Geez! You are _freezing_!" Rosemary exclaimed, "What's up with that?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Olyvia replied, "Now, since it's only the afternoon, you should probably go see Bruce."

"Where is Dia? I want to see her firebending powers!"

"She's…somewhere…with Loki I believe," Olyvia said, "Training perhaps."

"Well, they _are_ newlyweds," Stark added, "They could be…elsewhere."

"Thanks for the mental image Stark," Olyvia said blandly, "I am scarred for life."

"I can come up with more disturbing images than that."

"Don't…talk. Not at all, just shush," Olyvia ordered.

Rosemary turned to Steve and said a brief hello to him, before chatting up Olyvia again. Rosemary was slightly disappointed that she hadn't found any extra powers for herself, thinking it would be so cool to be able to bend an element.

"Just because Dianne can create and manipulate fire, doesn't mean you will get an elemental power, if you even gain another," Olyvia said, "For all we know, it could be super human talking speed. Though…you're already seventy percent there."

Rosemary frowned at her sister, "Stop making fun of me with the talking thing!"

"Then stop talking so much!" Olyvia replied exasperatedly.

Dianne and Loki then arrived in the penthouse, dressed in their training clothes, so Olyvia's assumption had been correct. Rosemary chanted Dianne's name as she went rushing over to her, but Dianne held out a hand and held it against Rosemary's forehead so she couldn't hug her.

"You know I'm not one for hugs," Dianne said, "Especially from a leech like you."

"I'm not that clingy anymore," Rosemary rebutted, "So please? Hug? It's been ages since I've seen you!"

"You saw me last month when I went to pick up Nelly!"

"I didn't get to hug you then either!"

Dianne sighed in defeat, "Fine, but you only get two seconds."

"Yay!" Rosemary said happily, rushing forward when Dianne moved her hand and slammed herself against her.

Giving her a tight squeeze, she counted out the two seconds in her head before moving away, knowing full well Dianne would give her a noogie or pinch her or something if she didn't back away in time.

"So do I get to see your firebending?" Rosemary asked excitedly.

"After you go see Bruce," Olyvia said.

"Awww…okay, fine," Rosemary relented, "So where is Bruce's lab?"

"I'll take you," Stark offered, motioning Rosemary to follow.

Rosemary skipped over to Stark, going back to walking once she reached his side, "So how long is this going to take?"

Stark shrugged, "Not sure…maybe an hour."

"Dia! Livy! Where will we meet up in an hour or so? So I can see Dia's firebending?"

Olyvia sighed, dropping her head into a hand. Her sister was far too excited about Dianne's new power. Dianne was the one to reply, "In the gym. Stark can show you the way there too."

"Alright, I'll be there."

Once she and Stark were gone, Olyvia let out a groan.

"This is going to be interesting."

* * *

Rosemary watched with wide eyes as Dianne showed her, her fire abilities. The way she used them were just like the show! But…that was probably because she just copied them.

"That is just so cool!" Rosemary squealed once her sister walked back over to where her sisters, Loki, Steve, and Stark were sitting, "Ugh, I wish I could do that."

"Well, have you tried?" Dianne asked, "Maybe you haven't discovered what you might be able to do because you haven't triggered it."

"Hmm…you got a point. Okay, let's try some firebending!" Rosemary said excitedly, pushing herself off the bench and heading out into the open area of the gym.

Taking a stance, she focused herself on channeling her energy, taking deep breaths, and then shot her arm out, punching into the air, to see if she could make any flame. Nothing happened.

"That one felt hot," Olyvia and Dianne said in unison before looking at each other and glaring. They always glared at each other whenever they said the same thing, because it was creepy and the other shouldn't be reading their mind like that.

"Don't patronize me! You know what it's supposed to look like!" Rosemary shouted at them, continuing the quote.

"Sorry Sifu Hotman," Olyvia said.

"And stop calling me that!" Rosemary retorted.

"Okay, you guys watch Avatar, far too much," Stark said to the girls.

"I'm lost here," Steve muttered.

"As am I," Loki added.

"But Avatar is such an awesome T.V show!" Rosemary exclaimed, "We can't help but remember its awesomness!"

"Okay, enough with the quoting, try something else," Dianne said.

Rosemary pursed her lips in thought, wondering what to do. She then tried to manipulate the air, but still nothing happened. Dianne opened up her water bottle and tossed the remainder of the water inside at her, but it only got Rosemary wet, she wasn't able to do anything.

"Okay, that's it, I'm not special," Rosemary said, wringing out her shirt.

"You still have one element left," Stark pointed out.

"We're inside a building, we don't have any earth available," Rosemary said, "And I think I would have bent earth back home, when I was surrounded by it."

Stark shrugged, "Well, we have a bit of a garden out on the balcony, why don't you give that a try?"

Rosemary thought over it for a few seconds before deciding to go ahead and see. The others followed her and Stark to the balcony, standing a good ways away as Rosemary looked at this "garden" of Starks.

"This isn't a garden," Rosemary said, "This is…I don't even know what to call it."

"It's for appeal," Stark defended, "Now have at it."

Rosemary knew there wasn't much dirt there, so she doubted there would be much to actually manipulate, if she were able to do it. She tried, and tried, and tried, yet nothing happened.

"See, I told you, not special," Rosemary sighed.

"Or, maybe I was right with the super speech," Olyvia quipped.

Rosemary turned stiffly to her sister, and stomped a foot on the ground, "I told you to stop teasing me about that!"

The moment Rosemary stomped her foot down, the small ceramic potted plant shot up into the air, before it came crashing back down just a few feet in front of Rosemary. Everyone looked down at it in shock, before cringing as Rosemary let out an ecstatic squeal.

"I'm an earthbender!" Rosemary exclaimed, "Whoohoo! I'm Toph!"

"Only if you can bend metal," Stark rebutted.

Rosemary turned back to the building, looking for something, before heading inside. Stark was quick to go after her.

"Don't you dare break my house!" Stark shouted, "No! No, no, no, no! Not the suit! It's a titanium alloy anyway! Not even Toph could bend that!"

"Well, I might as well try right?"

"I said don't touch!"

"Yeah…we're going to end up demolishing the tower by the end of the week," Olyvia sighed.

* * *

Things finally started calming down after a few days of Rosemary experimenting with her newfound ability. She wasn't as easily able to control it as Dianne was, so she spent a lot of time trying to figure it out, and unfortunately breaking a lot of Stark's things, which didn't make him too happy.

Waking early in the morning, around six o'clock, Steve slipped out of bed and grabbed his workout clothes for his daily morning routine. Once changing in the bathroom, just in case Olyvia woke up and tried peeking, he walked back into the bedroom to give her a quick goodbye kiss. He was used to her still sleeping so it was common that he would just give her one on her cheek or whatever part of her head he could find. She was laying on her side, facing in towards Steve's side of the bed, the top sheet thrown over her, and that was it. She had kicked off the blankets again in the night. He guessed it had gotten too warm for her again. That had been happening the last week, and she didn't even want to cuddle anymore because she complained Steve was too hot, it was stifling cuddling with him. It hurt that she didn't want to, but he understood because it caused her discomfort, and that was the last thing he wanted. Kneeling down on the middle of the bed, he leaned down and brushed Olyvia's hair away from her face to kiss the top of her cheekbone before getting back up and heading out the door.

He reached the gym a few minutes later, set up the punching bags he was going to use, and got started. He was about a half hour into his workout, and about two punching bags down, completely focused on his training, when he was suddenly ripped out of it by the sound of screams. Screams he recognized. It was Olyvia.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello peoples! Here's the chapter!**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: Rosemary definitely will have more fun with destruction. All I have to say is, poor Stark and his building.**

**Katie Loom: Because I'm evil. :} hehehehe**

**Xandrea: I love putting in random references, just to see who notices them. Cliffhangers are fun too. :)**

**harrylee94: Your review had me laughing so hard. Didn't know things were getting **_**that**_** bad. As for Loki freezing himself to something…well, you'll see at the end of this chapter.**

**CHAPTER NINE**

Hearing the screams, Steve stopped mid-punch, and took off out of the gym and towards the rooms, not caring that he still had the wrappings on his hands or that he was a sweaty mess. Reaching the hallway leading to the room, Steve found Stark and Bruce already there, making their way down as well. He pushed past them, almost running into Loki and Dianne as they exited their room, before bursting into his room. Making a beeline to the bedroom, Steve found Olyvia sitting in the corner, pressing herself against the walls, still screaming her head off. The lamp by her side of the bed was on, offering just enough light in the room to see. Once she saw Steve, she stopped screaming and burst into a bout of sobs. Crossing the room, Steve dropped down onto his knees in front of her and placed his hands onto her shoulders.

"What is it Livy?" he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Is Amora here?" Loki asked, looking around the room, knowing she was capable of cloaking herself.

Olyvia shook her head, "N-no. Sorry for the screaming it's just…I didn't know who to scream for so I…just started screaming. S-sorry for scaring you."

"But why were you screaming?" Steve asked.

Olyvia brought up her hands from where she hand them crossed in front of her, hiding them beneath her arms, to reveal the tips of her fingers from the knuckle up, looking completely iced over.

"It won't go away Steve," Olyvia said, her breathing become rapid. She was getting close to hyperventilating, "It won't go away like it did the last time."

Steve's brow furrowed in worry, and he moved a hand to grab hers when she moved it.

"Don't touch it, please," Olyvia said, "I don't want to chance hurting you."

"May I see?" Steve heard Bruce ask from behind.

Steve moved out of the way so Bruce could take a look, crouching down beside him. He grabbed Olyvia by the wrist in order to get a closer look and not touch her fingertips.

"We should go to the lab to get a better look," Bruce said, standing again.

"Just…give me a few minutes?" Olyvia asked.

Bruce nodded before heading out the door, the others slowly following, leaving Steve the only other person in the room with Olyvia. She let out a shaky breath as she dropped her head to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut to keep more tears from falling. Wrapping his arms around her, Steve pulled her to his chest, pressing his face into her hair. He held her tightly, as if he were afraid he would lose her if he loosened it at all.

"You scared me," Steve rasped, "I thought something awful was happening to you."

"I'm sorry," Olyvia apologized, her voice sounding like she was trying not to cry, "I didn't mean to. I was just scared. I didn't know what was going on."

Turning her face to his, Steve kissed her on the lips, almost desperately. Olyvia went to grab his face, but caught herself in time, forced her hands back down and just kissed him back as best she could without their aid.

"I'm just relieved you're…alright," Steve said, "For the most part."

Olyvia looked down at her hands, "Yeah…this…this doesn't look good."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Steve said, kissing her again, "You'll be fine."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself of that rather than me."

Steve's face crumpled in anguish, the thought of losing Olyvia bringing tears to his eyes.

"It's okay Steve," Olyvia whispered, swallowing back tears, "There's no use trying to fool ourselves, it'll only make things harder in the future."

"I'm not going to lose you Olyvia," Steve said, gazing into her grey-blue eyes, "I love you, I can't—I can't lose you. I won't. We'll find a way to stop this."

She swallowed again, forcing back more tears. It felt like she was trying to swallow a grapefruit whole, it was so difficult to keep her emotions forced down.

"Then I guess we should go see Bruce now," Olyvia said.

Steve nodded, gave Olyvia one more kiss before standing, pulling her up with him, and the two silently made their way to the lab.

* * *

Bruce said nothing as he studied Olyvia's hand first with the naked eye, then with the microscope, then with a few other machines Olyvia didn't know the name of. Stark was there as well, going over the data with Bruce, and a half hour later Bruce walked over to the fretting couple, while Stark messed around with something on his phone.

"We have discovered what the mutation is," Bruce said.

"Well, it's sort of obvious," Olyvia muttered darkly.

"Question is though, do you know how bad it is?" Bruce asked her.

Olyvia swallowed hard, "How bad?"

"At first I thought maybe it was just an outer shell forming over your skin, like an exoskeleton," Bruce began, "But that is unfortunately…not the case."

When he didn't continue, Olyvia gave him a look, telling him to keep talking.

"Your cells are turning into ice," Bruce said, "Your bones, your flesh, so far the only thing not affected is your blood, but I don't know how long that may be the case. It may or may not ever affect it, but if it does…"

"I'll die," Olyvia finished for him.

"And as far as I can tell, you still are capable of movement, flexibility, which is odd, since it is ice," Bruce went on, "But again, don't know how long that will last. It could be once it takes over more of the body, you will lose movement. We'll just have to monitor the progression."

"Will you be able to reverse it?" Steve asked.

Bruce's hesitation didn't give Steve any comfort, "Maybe. I can't make any promises."

Steve was obviously not taking this well, receiving the news harder than Olyvia was. He ran a hand down his face and turned away from Bruce as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He was torn between crying and beating the bloody hell out of someone or something. Olyvia reached over and used the back of her hand to caress Steve's arm in a consoling gesture.

"I'll…leave you two be," Bruce said, seeing the two needed their privacy.

He crossed back to the other side of the room, out of earshot of the couple. Olyvia looked back to Steve, but he had his back to her.

"Steve," she said quietly, but he wouldn't turn around, "Steve…look at me."

Carefully grabbing his arm, making sure her fingertips didn't touch his skin, she turned him around to face her. Her heart rammed itself into her throat seeing tears in Steve's eyes again.

"I know this is hard for you," Olyvia said, "Probably harder for you seeing me go through this rather than me going through it."

"Are we ever going to hear good news?" he asked.

Olyvia's face fell, squeezing her eyes shut, "I don't know. I…I doubt it. I hate to say it, but I do."

Wrapping his arms over her shoulders, Steve pressed his lips against her forehead, before resting his against hers. They could feel each other's pain, and there were no words to explain how excruciating it was. They just stood there, holding each other, trying to ignore Stark slowly making his way closer. He was still messing with his phone until he was around five feet away. Music started playing from his phone, and Olyvia shot a death glare at him, recognizing the tune instantly.

"Stark, turn it off," Olyvia ordered, "It is not funny."

"I thought it was rather fitting," Stark rebutted.

Steve looked up in confusion, "What are you talking about."

"Stark. Turn. It. Off."

Steve was still confused until the lyrics started.

_You're as cold as ice_.

Letting go of Olyvia, Steve whirled around on Stark, his hands clenching into fists. He really wanted to hit Stark, but was using every ounce of his self-control to keep himself from doing so, "You really do think everything is a joke don't you?"

"And like I said, funny things are."

"_This_ isn't funny," Steve said angrily, "What is happening to Olyvia is _not_ funny in the least! How can you joke about something as serious as this?"

"Well maybe someone is taking this too seriously," Stark rebutted.

"I'm taking this as serious as the situation is!" Steve shouted, "I might lose her Stark. And if you can't understand how serious that is to me…then you shouldn't even be here, acting like you're helping."

"Don't think that I'm not taking this seriously Steve, because I am—."

"Bullshit!" Steve shouted, making Olyvia look up at him in surprise. She had never heard such language from him.

Stark opened his mouth to say something else but Steve held up a hand, silencing him.

"Don't talk to me Stark. I don't want to hear _anything else_ from you," Steve said tersely.

Turning on his heel, he strode out the door, letting it slam shut behind him. Stark looked over to Olyvia, who was still glaring at him.

"Livy you know I didn't mean—."

"Why don't you do something useful Stark, and keep Rosemary entertained," Olyvia said, walking towards the door, "Since entertaining seems to be the only thing you're capable of."

She exited as well, eager to leave the encounter behind her. She was hoping this was all a nightmare, that she'd wake up back at her apartment in Ashland, and be planning her wedding. At this point, she wasn't sure if there would even be one.

* * *

Steve went straight back to the gym, needing to vent his anger. In the following ten minutes, he had pommeled four more punching bags, destroying them beyond repair. He didn't realize he had a visitor for nearly the whole time he spent there, wasting bag, after bag, after bag. Sending the last one flying into the wall, Steve crumpled down to his knees and dropped his head into his hands, pulling at his hair, wanting to just rip it out. He was so angry, and distraught, he wasn't sure what to do with himself.

"I know you feel," a familiar voice said from behind.

Steve lifted his head and turned to the voice, to see Loki walking over to him from where he had been watching near the doors.

"And just how do you know how I feel?" Steve asked, standing back up and began removing the wrappings on his hands.

"I shared a similar experience, where there was a chance of losing someone I loved," Loki said, "When Thanos abducted Dianne."

"I don't think it's quite the same Loki."

"Oh, I guess not," Loki said, with an air of sarcasm, "Dianne's death was assured had I not gotten to her in time, while Olyvia…well, she still has a chance. So no, not quite the same."

Steve sighed dejectedly, "Is there something you want Loki?"

"Just to talk," Loki replied, "Though I figured it be safer once you…vented your anger."

"Talking is the last thing I want to do right now."

"And I understand. It feels better to hit something sometimes."

When Steve said nothing else, Loki continued.

"I can also…sort of relate to Olyvia at the moment. We are having…similar problems, though mine aren't nearly as severe. I do believe she will overcome this."

"And what makes you so confident of that?" Steve couldn't help but ask. His own hope and confidence was dwindling.

"Well firstly, she is a Harris, obstinacy sort of runs in the family," Loki replied, "She's stubborn, but in certain cases that is a good thing, such as now. I doubt she'll let this overtake her without a fight. Secondly, it's Olyvia, she has gone through a lot more than most of us and pulled through just fine."

"Is that all?" Steve asked with a dry laugh.

"If you want more reasons I'm sure I can come up with some, I'm good at that sort of thing."

"But will any of it really work?" Steve asked, "What surety do I have…that she'll be okay?"

"She has a reason to fight this, something to live for," Loki said, "You. And that should be enough, yes?"

Steve ran a hand over his face, "It's not that easy, and you know it."

"No it's not easy," Loki agreed, "But neither you nor Olyvia, are alone in this. We're all here for you, you know that."

Steve looked up at his friend, overcome with gratitude. How could he feel so ungrateful when he, Dianne, Rosemary, Bruce…and even Stark, took time out of their lives to try to help Olyvia, which in turn helped him. Stark though, made it much more difficult to live through.

"Now, you should probably go see Olyvia," Loki said, "She's being her…usual emotional self and Dianne isn't having any luck calming her down."

"I'll go talk to her," Steve assured him.

Loki gave him a small nod and headed to the door.

"Loki," Steve called out, and he slowed to a stop and turned back, "Thank you."

He nodded again, opting to say nothing, and continued on his pathway out the door. Steve turned back to the mess he made, and started cleaning it up, knowing Stark would give him hell about it later if he had just left it. Working as quick as he could, he got it tidied up again, and left the gym. There was a certain someone he needed to find before they had their own hulk-out and destroyed the building.

* * *

Olyvia was in the penthouse, storming around the room ranting to Dianne about Stark, how unsympathetic he was, how infuriating his "jokes" were, and how she just wanted to break something. Steve, seeing her in this bad of a mood, wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the same room. Dianne however appeared unnerved by her sister's current temper, and just watched her stomp around the room, kicking the couch every time she passed by it in silence, letting her rant and get it out. Mustering his courage, Steve walked over to his fiancée.

"Livy—."

"What?" Olyvia asked shrilly, throwing her arms up.

Steve paused to think about what to do or say. He needed to be very careful so he wouldn't make her even angrier. Like the Hulk, it wasn't a pretty sight when Olyvia got angry. But since he wasn't good with words, he instead closed the distance between them and hugged her. With a quiet sob Olyvia threw her arms around Steve's neck, pulling him closer.

"I'm sorry," he whispered after a few moments.

"There's nothing for _you_ to be sorry about," Olyvia replied, her voice somewhat muffled since her face was pressed against his neck.

"I was just saying I'm sorry that nothing has been going our way," Steve said, "You deserve all the happiness in the world and I…I've been unable to give it to you."

"As long as I have you, that'll be enough," Olyvia replied.

Steve turned his head to give her a kiss on her temple, then adjusted his arms to hold her even closer, gently rubbing her upper back with a hand to help soothe her rampant emotions. After standing there for a few minutes, Dianne jumped to her feet.

"I know what will make you happy!"

"Throwing Stark off the tower?" Olyvia guessed.

"As fun as that may be, no," Dianne replied, "I know he's a pain in the—."

"Language!" Rosemary shouted from the kitchen.

"But I didn't even _say_ anything!" Dianne shouted back.

"I know what you were going to say!" Rosemary rebutted.

"Butt! I was going to say pain in the butt!" Dianne shouted, before rolling her eyes and turning back to Olyvia, "Anyway, I know Stark is a pain, but he is an important asset to helping your problem, you can't deny that."

Olyvia grumbled under her breath. Stark really hadn't been offering much to help.

"But anyway, back on track," Dianne began, "Making you happy, I know what to do. Let's put on some music!"

The corner of Olyvia's lips twitched slightly, a tiny smile now on her face, "I like music."

"Then I'm going to go get my MP3 player and speakers," Dianne said as she walked toward the hallway leading to the rooms.

"Abney Park and Skillet!" Olyvia called over to her sister, leaning away from Steve so he wouldn't block her voice and Dianne could hear her better.

"I have them on my MP3, don't worry," Dianne called back.

Steve looked down at Olyvia in confusion, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Music," Olyvia replied, "Abney Park and Skillet are bands I like. You uh…you probably won't like them."

"What makes you say that?"

"You haven't heard much modern music, and you like Jazz, right?"

Steve nodded.

"I don't listen to Jazz. Not often at least," Olyvia said, "It's okay, but it's not my favorite. I've played it before, in elementary school when I played trumpet, but I digress, we're talking about the music Dianne is getting. It's not Jazz, it's…well, Skillet is rock, Abney Park is…steampunk? I'm not so sure about that one. Anyway, you might not like it."

"Thanks for the warning?" Steve said uncertainly.

"And if you don't like it, too bad, you're going to have to suck it up for at least an hour," Olyvia said, "I need music."

"I just want you happy, I don't care what it takes."

"What if I wanted Stark's head on a silver platter?"

"I'd happily do it myself."

"Okay, that was a bad example," Olyvia muttered, "What if…what if I wanted you to put on a dress and dance?"

Steve grimaced, "I'd rather not."

"I'm sure you'd look pretty in a dress."

Steve was about to retort when he was saved from not having to talk about it by Dianne who announced she had the music.

"What do you want to listen to first?" Dianne asked.

Olyvia moved away from Steve over to her sister and grabbed her chin as she thought over it, looking from the MP3 player, over to the kitchen where Rosemary was eating her breakfast.

"Skillet," Olyvia decided, "Monster."

"You know Rosemary hates it when you—."

"I know," Olyvia interrupted, grinning widely, "But it's so fun to freak her out."

"She'll have at least two minutes of warning."

"I'm sneaky though. I'm a ninja, remember?"

Dianne just shook her head and went ahead and started up the music. Olyvia started dancing a little to the beat of the music, while Rosemary whipped her head around to look at Olyvia in terror.

"Don't you dare do it," Rosemary said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Olyvia said innocently.

Steve went and sat down on the couch, trying to ignore the music because, as Olyvia predicted, he didn't exactly like it. It sounded like something Stark would listen to. Olyvia was already in a significantly better mood though, sort of dancing to the music, but mostly singing along to the lyrics, just as Dianne was. It wasn't long before Loki also came into the room.

"What is that noise?" Loki asked, holding a hand over an ear.

"Your wife's music," Steve replied.

"Oh…," Loki muttered, "Lovely."

As the song continued, Rosemary kept turning back to her sisters after taking a few bites of her hashbrowns, trying to keep an eye on Olyvia. Near the end of the song though, Olyvia suddenly disappeared.

"Where is she?" Rosemary asked, jumping up from her seat and looking wildly around the room.

Dianne just shrugged, "Beats me, I wasn't paying attention."

Rosemary continued to look around, knowing when her sister would strike, but she didn't spot her in time when it came around.

"_I must confess that I _feel like a monster!"

Rosemary screamed, making everyone, including Olyvia cringe, and almost fall over from the power of it. She hated, absolutely _hated_, when Olyvia was able to exactly copy the creepy sounding voice in that song, and right in her ear.

"Stop copying the creepy voices!" Rosemary screeched, slapping at her sisters arm as she began laughing at her, "Why are you so…_good_ at mimicking creepy voices?"

"Precious," Olyvia said, in Gollum's voice.

"I said stop it!"

"I'm lost again," Loki said.

"Welcome to the club," Steve sighed.

* * *

Over the next few days, Olyvia noticed the ice was spreading further, nearly going down to the next knuckle on her fingers. Her feet were also going through the same process, and Olyvia thought it looked very odd, her toes being all ice now. It was also a problem. Whatever she touched would start to freeze, or ice over, depending on what it was. She accidently cracked Stark's marble countertop in the kitchen from it getting so cold when she had touched it for a little too long. She wore shoes all the time, but they were iced over at the tips, which in turn made kicking people much more fun, seeing how high they jumped from the sudden cold touching their leg. At this rate though, she wouldn't be able to touch anyone, or anything. For showers, Olyvia had to take a freezing cold one, though it didn't feel that way to her, and pick out chunks of ice from her hair. It made her very sad to not be able to cuddle up with Steve anymore, for fear that she might give him frostbite from just a glancing touch. She even banned herself from the bedroom, moving to sleep on the couch with her hands and feet wrapped up in socks, gloves, and whatever else she could use to put as many layers between them and everything else.

She and Steve visited Bruce every day in the lab, seeing what else he may have found. He was working on finding the mutation rate so he could predict around when the transformation would be completed so they had a date that they needed to find a cure beforehand. After a week, the ice progression had reached the palms of Olyvia's hands, and almost halfway across her feet.

"At this rate I'm going to have to start crawling around on my elbows and knees," Olyvia lamented as she used her elbows to open the fridge so she could get milk for her cereal one morning.

"You'll still be able to walk around just fine Livy," Steve assured her.

"Yeah, and leave a frost trail wherever I go," Olyvia rebutted, looking down at her feet to see the frosty mist coming off in curls from the icy shoes, frost slowly making its way across the tile around her feet.

"I'm sure Bruce will find a solution any day now," Steve said.

Olyvia reached into the fridge and grabbed the milk with the palms of her hand and pulled it out, "Right, just like he's found breakthroughs all this week."

"You never know when he might find something," Steve said, grabbing the milk from her when she went to try to open it up with her teeth, "Here, just let me help you."

Olyvia sighed in frustration, "I can't do anything for myself anymore. I mean, Dianne has to start my showers for me so I don't break it."

"Like Loki did," Dianne chipped in from her seat at the table just on the other side of the eating counter where the dining area was.

Loki frowned at his wife. He couldn't believe she was still giving him grief for that. It wasn't like he could have helped it.

"And why am I bothering trying to eat?" Olyvia asked in frustration, "I'll only ice over the spoon."

"You've been able to eat just fine before," Steve told her.

"It's just…infuriating! I feel like a toddler again!" Olyvia exclaimed, grabbing her hair and pulling at it. Her iced fingers didn't affect her at all, just everything else.

"Livy—," Steve began.

"Don't start, just…go sit down!" Olyvia ordered, pointing over to the table.

As she pointed over, something shot out from her hand, and embedded itself into the wall, inches away from Loki's head. He froze seeing something fly past his head, then slowly turned around to see four inches of an icicle protruding out from the wall.

"Don't start taking your anger out on me," Loki said.

"That was an accident," Olyvia said, "How did that even happen?"

"So…Livy has power over ice," Dianne said, "And can use icicles as darts. Sounds fun."

"I guess you should start trying to figure out how it works then," Steve added, "So there aren't anymore…accidents."

"Yeah…that sounds like a good idea," Olyvia agreed, looking down at her hands.

Sitting down at the table with the others, she started eating her breakfast, and quickly to avoid freezing the cereal. It wasn't fun trying to eat chunks of frozen milk. She was finishing up breakfast when Stark came running over to them. After his little music joke, Olyvia and Steve really hadn't seen much of him during the week so they were surprised to see him.

"Livy I need you to come with me," Stark said breathlessly. It sounded like he had run from wherever he had been previously.

"Why? You going to play a playlist of songs related to ice for me?" Olyvia asked bitterly.

"No that's not why, it's—," Stark paused when he noticed the icicle still in the wall, "Where did that come from?"

Olyvia wiggled her iced fingers at him, "These. Don't ask how because I don't know."

"Uh-huh…," Stark muttered, "Anyway, come with me, I have something for you."

"Okay, just give me a second," Olyvia said, finishing off the last of her cereal. Before she could take her bowl and spoon to rinse it out and put it in the dishwasher, Steve grabbed it to do just that.

"I'm not completely helpless Steve," Olyvia said tersely.

"I know that," Steve replied, "Just go with Stark, I'll take care of this and join you in a minute."

"We'll be in the lab," Stark told Steve before motioning for Olyvia to follow.

With a sigh, Olyvia followed after the billionaire. This better be something good, because Olyvia was already starting to get into a foul mood. Reaching the lab, Stark took her over to his section, and picked up half a yard of navy blue fabric he had draped over the table, holding it up for Olyvia to see.

"I have made this for you," Stark said, "It shouldn't be affected by the ice, but instead will keep it insulated. It'll act like a refrigerator, to put it simply. So you won't ice over my countertops anymore."

"I apologized for that," Olyvia muttered, "Now, you say it _shouldn't_ be affected by my icicle fingers. What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I haven't had a chance to test it out," Stark said, placing the fabric back down, "So, if you could just try these on, we'll see if it works."

Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a pair of elbow length gloves.

"Well that's not very reassuring," Olyvia muttered, referring to the length.

"Better safe than sorry," Stark said, "Doesn't mean I expect it to get that far."

"I do though," Olyvia muttered, taking the gloves and pulling them on.

They fit snugly, and she was still able to move her fingers and wrist just fine, it didn't hinder her movement at all, but she waited with bated breath to see if the tips would start frosting over. After thirty seconds, nothing had happened, when usually other fabrics would have frosted over in the first five seconds.

"So it looks like it's working," Stark said, "Judging by the shocked look on your face."

Olyvia nodded numbly, before jumping slightly when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"What'd I miss?" Steve asked.

"Stark made a fabric I can't ice over," Olyvia said, holding up her hand so he could see, "I've had these on for almost a minute now."

Steve's eyes widened in surprise, "So does that mean you can't affect anything else when you touch it?"

"That we still have to test," Stark said, "So Livy…grab my arm."

"I'm not going to risk hurting someone Stark," Olyvia refused, "So no."

"Oh come on you know you'd do it in a heartbeat if I pissed you off," Stark rebutted, holding out his arm to her, "So do it."

Olyvia shook her head, "No Stark."

"Don't make me play that song again," Stark threatened.

"Playing ice related songs aren't much of a threat Stark."

"Oh, that wasn't the song I was referring to," Stark said with a smirk.

Olyvia eyed him suspiciously, but she still wasn't going to chance hurting him.

"No."

Stark sighed, and pulled out his phone, "Alright, you asked for it."

"Stark, must you act so childish?" Steve asked disapprovingly.

"If it gets results, yes," Stark replied.

Olyvia sighed, and waited for Stark to play this song she supposedly wouldn't like. Once it started though, she began to writhe as if in agony, before whipping her hand out and grabbing Stark by the arm.

"I did it! I did it alright! Turn off the Numa Numa song!" Olyvia demanded.

"Thought that would work," Stark said, turning off the music, "And it only feels a little cold instead of instant frostbite cold so I say it works."

Olyvia released her hold on Stark, and just stared in wonder at the gloves. She couldn't believe he managed to make them work. She wouldn't have to rely on others to do things for her anymore. And she could cuddle up with Steve again without having to worry about possibly hurting him. Until she couldn't stand the sweltering heat of being next to him of course.

Lifting her gaze, she looked back up to Stark, tears of gratitude welling up in her eyes. She blinked them away as best she could since she had done plenty of crying over the last few weeks. But since she was so grateful for what Stark was able to do, she did something she had only done once before to him. She hugged him.

"Thank you Stark," she said, "I know you and I don't get along too often, but I really appreciate you doing this. Thank you for helping."

"I just want you out of my house A.S.A.P," Stark replied.

Olyvia pulled away and playfully slugged Stark in the arm, being very careful with the strength she put behind it so she wouldn't bruise him, "The feeling is mutual."

"Oh, and Pepper made socks for you too," Stark said, pulling out knee-high socks.

"So you had Pepper sew these?" Olyvia asked.

"You think I know how to sew?"

"Point taken," Olyvia said, taking the socks as well, "Thank you again Stark."

He nodded and waved goodbye as she and Steve left the lab. Once the doors closed behind them, Steve reached down and laced his fingers through Olyvia's bringing her hand up to his lips for a quick kiss.

"I'm glad I'm able to do this again," Steve said, referring to holding her hand.

Olyvia smiled up at him, "As am I. I think I'd die without human contact."

Pausing in step for a moment, Steve bent down and gave Olyvia a kiss on her lips, "I'm glad they've been able to make progress."

Olyvia nodded in agreement, "It's definitely a good sign."

Standing on her tip-toes, she gave Steve another kiss before they continued on their way back to the penthouse. For once, Olyvia was smiling as she left the lab. Today was starting out as a good day.

* * *

That afternoon Olyvia decided to try testing out her ice powers. First she tried replicating the icicle incident earlier, using a target at the other end of the room to aim for. After about an hour she finally figured out how to do it. Of course, she had to have her gloves removed for it to be done. And something interesting happened by accident when she was practicing her "icicle darts", as Dianne called them. Instead of just one coming out, almost a hundred shot out from her hands like a flurry of arrows.

"Well…I think I killed the target," Olyvia said, wincing as she looked at the pincushion of a target. She felt rather sorry for it.

"I'd say," Dianne agreed, shooting a fireball at the target and melting away all the icicles.

Olyvia pulled on her gloves, "I think I'm done for today."

"I think I'll go ahead and stay down here for a while," Dianne said, "Get some training in myself."

"Okay, I'll see you later then," Olyvia said, waving goodbye to her sister.

Steve joined her at her side as they left the gym, heading back upstairs to the penthouse. They were nearly there, coming to a corner in the hallway when Loki came around, running right into Olyvia.

"Oomph! Sorry Loki," Olyvia apologized.

"It's alright," Loki assured her, and went to pull his arms back from where he had automatically grabbed onto her forearms, only to feel a tug on his arms from being unable to move.

Olyvia and Loki both looked down, to see at least three inches of clear ice surrounding their forearms, freezing them together. Olyvia's eyes widened in horror.

"Did I do that?"

Loki sighed, "Lovely, I thought I was over this."


	10. Chapter 10

**I hope everyone had a fun Halloween! I didn't do anything special except type so I could get this chapter up today.**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: Tony had to make up for annoying them, and he did a very good job with it.**

**harrylee94: No, they just both have ice abilities, so they just might…bring it out in each other. And James…uh…the last chapter? Leading into the next installment? He's not a main focus yet.**

**Guest/ Aya-Shoru: Since I know you were the guest since you were sitting across from me in the library and informed you, you weren't signed in to make your review and that your LOL was laaaaaaaaame. Not even one real word. But then you fixed it. Freezing people together is funny.**

**TwilightAnimeLover21: Oh, I just assumed that he, as well as Thor, told everyone of his heritage **_**last**_** story. I thought it was a given. Sorry that I never got that across.**

**Xandrea: When will Loki **_**not**_** have problems?**

**Katie Loom: For Olyvia at least. I don't think any other girl would complain being frozen to Loki.**

**CHAPTER TEN**

Olyvia tugged on her arms, but the ice encapsulating her and Loki together was stronger than she expected. Though she had super strength, she didn't want to chance breaking Loki's arms in the process, which was a high possibility.

"So…this is you?" Olyvia asked.

Loki nodded, "I haven't had an accident in a few weeks though, I thought it was done happening."

"How do you get out?" Steve asked, "Is it hurting you at all Olyvia? Are you alright?"

"Steve, calm down, I'm fine, I don't feel anything," Olyvia said, "Which…I guess is odd."

Loki shrugged, "Not really, given the circumstance."

Olyvia nodded in agreement. She really couldn't argue.

"So how do we free ourselves?" Olyvia asked, "Can you make it go away?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Loki admitted, "So we need help getting out."

Olyvia pursed her lips together in thought, "Hmm…well…," she looked over to her left at the wall, "how strong do you think that wall is?"

Loki looked over at it as well, "Why?"

Heaving their arms toward the wall, Olyvia slammed them against the metal beam, shattering the ice, as well as putting a dent in the beam. She also ended up hurting her arm. Not breaking it, but definitely bruising.

"Ow, ow," Olyvia whimpered.

"Ow indeed," Loki grimaced, "Did you have to do that?"

"It'll stop hurting eventually," Olyvia said, looking down at their other iced over arms.

"Don't do it," Loki said in a very demanding tone.

"Well then what do you suggest?"

"Someone else to break it off, like I said earlier."

"So do you want my help?" Steve asked.

Olyvia turned back down the hallway, and started walking, pulling Loki along behind her, "No, I have a better idea."

"What better idea?" Loki asked.

"Have Dianne melt it off."

Loki's heart leapt into his throat. He didn't think that was a good idea. Being close to fire didn't sound like a good idea at all.

Dianne had to laugh for a good five minutes to get it out of her system before she could even try her hand at melting the ice gluing her husband and sister together by the arm. Olyvia wasn't amused at all, and just waited patiently for her sister to finish.

"Can you detach me from your husband yet?" Olyvia asked.

Dianne was still wheezing on the floor, curled up in a fetal position she had been laughing so hard, "J-just a s-s-second."

Taking in deep breaths, Dianne began to straighten herself out so she could get up. Loki offered his free hand to her once she was fully straightened out, pulling her back up to her feet.

"Are you done?" he asked.

Dianne nodded, "Yeah."

Olyvia moved around to shove their iced over arms towards her, pushing Loki out of the way without him realizing what she was doing so he stumbled over his feet a little.

"I do have better things to do than be stuck to your husband," Olyvia said, "So please, get rid of it."

"Wait," Loki said, seeing Dianne raise her hands with a low flame surrounding her palms, "Do we really have to do it that way?"

"It'll be faster," Dianne said, "I thought you wanted out of this."

"I do, it's just…fire doesn't seem like the best idea," Loki replied.

Dianne looked at him curiously before it all clicked together in her head, her eyes lighting up, "Oh, I see what really is the problem. You're scared of fire, aren't you?"

"I'm not _scared_ of fire," Loki rebutted, "I'm just…more susceptible to heat, being…having been a Jotun. Fire and I do _not _get along. That is all. And I don't particularly want to be burned either."

"I'll be careful," Dianne assured him, leaning in and giving him a peck on the lips.

Olyvia made a face, "Honestly, just cut off my arm if you're going to be all mushy-gushy with each other with me still _attached_. I don't want to be forced to watch."

Dianne chuckled, "Oh, I could be so evil right now."

"I'm attached to your husband, I can hurt him," Olyvia threatened.

"Please don't have her hurt me," Loki said, "I would like to stay in one piece."

Flame covered Dianne's hands again as she finally placed them onto the ice, "I'd never let her hurt you. Never let anyone hurt you."

"Except for yourself," Loki said, watching her progression closely, "So please be careful."

"Don't trust your wife?" Olyvia questioned tauntingly.

"I do trust her, but I also know of her bizarre fascination with fire and burning things," Loki said.

"Yes, imagine how much more fascinated she'd be with you if you were on fire," Olyvia said with a laugh.

Loki's eyes widened in horror, "Don't give her any ideas! There's no telling whether she'll follow through with any."

"Is that enough for you to pull apart?" Dianne asked, pulling her hands back and stepping away from the puddle of water at her feet.

Olyvia gave a tug on her arm, and pulled it away from Loki's, a chunk of ice still on it. With a whip of her arm towards the wall, the chunk of ice flew off and crashed against the wall, shattering into hundreds of shards.

"Your care and restraint is astounding," Loki said sarcastically, pulling off the chunk of ice on his own arm, which Dianne took and melted it into another puddle.

Olyvia just rolled her eyes, "Whatever, at least my mess is easier to clean up than a puddle."

Walking over to the lockers, Olyvia grabbed a broom and dustpan in the corner of there and went to sweep up the ice chunks. Dianne meanwhile grabbed a handful of rags and began mopping up her mess. With the ice chunks Olyvia picked up, she left the room to the nearest restroom and dumped them into a sink before returning to put the broom and dustpan back.

"So how exactly did that happen?" Dianne asked once her sister was back.

Olyvia shrugged, while Loki replied with an "I don't know."

"He ran into me and when we tried to pull apart, found we were entrapped in the ice," Olyvia went on to say, "Both arms. I broke one side, but since I nearly broke my arm doing that, Loki suggested we get help."

"You almost broke my arm too, not just yours," Loki pointed out.

"But I didn't," Olyvia said.

"And a good thing you didn't, or else _I_ would have broken your arm in retribution," Dianne threatened.

"But I didn't! So stop glaring at me."

Dianne looked back to her husband, "I thought you were over the random freezing spurts."

"I thought I was too," Loki replied, "I guess it decided to start acting up again."

Dianne sighed heavily, "Great."

"Olyvia is lucky I didn't stab her though," Loki said.

"That is true," Dianne agreed.

"What, what?" Olyvia asked, "Stab me?"

"When Loki forms the ice, it usually comes out at a point, like a punching dagger," Dianne explained.

"I'm guessing though that this ice does more damage than a D4, on a critical," Olyvia said.

"Well, we don't know for sure, but we don't exactly want to find out," Dianne explained.

"Gotcha," Olyvia muttered.

"D4…what?" Loki asked in confusion.

"I can explain later," Dianne said.

Even if she did explain later, Loki was sure he'd still be confused. Some things Dianne was into just never made sense to him.

* * *

The next week was complete chaos at the Tower. Rosemary was having too much fun breaking apart a room and then _trying_ to put it back together, the keyword being trying. She'd end up going up to Stark, an all too innocent smile on her face before asking him if he could tell her where things went back so the room could be in one piece again. It was lucky for her Stark liked her so much or else he wouldn't have tolerated her taking apart his testing lab. Since it had concrete walls, it was her favorite place to play. Or practice, depended on which term you preferred to use because both worked.

Along with Rosemary's practice, Olyvia spent time working on her newfound ice powers. There had been a few more accidents of flying icicles, which resulted in a few broken vases, a damaged stove, and a speared Iron Man poster. Stark wasn't too happy about the last one. It was odd though, she couldn't conjure her icicle darts with the gloves on, but the accidents didn't seem to care whether they were on or not. She was guessing she could learn to use her powers when she had the gloves on, which would be preferred.

The progression of the transformation had completely overtaken her fingers, so she had to take off her engagement ring as to not damage it. So she wouldn't have to part with it, she put it on a chain and wore it around her neck. She knew Steve was just as upset as she was about being unable to wear it, and she couldn't wait for this to be gone so she could wear it again.

With a whole month having gone by for Olyvia's stay, there was little progress made in finding a cure for her, but with an upcoming event on her mind, she was too preoccupied to worry about that at the moment. Steve's birthday was coming up, and she wanted to have a little party for him. Stark would be out that day anyway, for business things or other parties so it would be Stark-free at the Tower for the day, which would be enough of a present for Steve, but she had her own present to give. She spent the three days prior preparing and planning the food and games. On the day of his birthday, Steve woke up at his usual time, to find Olyvia already gone. He couldn't help but panic, since she never got up early, and shot out of bed, not bothering throwing on a shirt as he looked around the room, and then headed to the penthouse to see if anyone knew where she was. He sighed in relief when he saw her working in the kitchen, Dianne and Rosemary in there with her. Rosemary saw him first, her eyes going wide when she did, and began tugging on Olyvia's sleeve.

"What?" Olyvia asked irritably, not turning around to look at her sister.

"It's your tank," Rosemary replied.

Olyvia turned around looking confused, but when she saw Steve it disappeared and she rushed over and began pushing him away.

"You're supposed to still be sleeping," she almost scolded, "Or in the gym. Why are you here?"

"It's six in the morning, you weren't in bed, I was worried something happened," Steve replied, backing up towards the hallway he had just left, "Can you really blame me? You're _never_ up this early."

Olyvia sighed, "Only for special occasions and today is a special occasion so I need you to either go back to bed, or go to the gym. You're not allowed into the kitchen yet."

Steve lifted his head to look to the kitchen to see if he could tell what she was working on, only to have Olyvia slap a hand over his eyes.

"No peeking! I'll come and get you when you're allowed to see," Olyvia said.

Removing her hand, Steve looked back down to his fiancée, "Very well, I'll go down to the gym."

"I'll see you later then," Olyvia said, "Oh, and happy birthday."

Leaning into Steve, she gave him a long kiss, which he wasn't too happy about breaking away from when she did. With another little push, she sent him back toward the hall while she went back to the kitchen.

"I forgot how…muscly your boyfriend was," Rosemary muttered.

"He's not my boyfriend, he's my fiancé. Get it right."

Rosemary rolled her eyes, "Sorry, your _fiancé_ is very muscly."

"And?" Olyvia asked, as if that was a problem.

"You do remember what she was like when she first saw Steve, right?" Dianne asked her youngest sister.

Rosemary nodded, "True."

"What? He is an Adonis among men! How could I _not_ have had that reaction?"

"Midget, go grab a bucket, I think she's starting to drool again."

Olyvia narrowed her eyes into a glare at Dianne, "Oh shut up and finish peeling those potatoes."

* * *

Steve wasn't in the gym too long before Olyvia came to fetch him, hardly getting much of a workout, but he went ahead and showered and returned to the penthouse anyway. Olyvia was waiting for him outside the hallway, and slipped behind him to place her hands over his eyes once he stepped out.

"Payback I assume?" Steve asked with a smile.

"No, but it is my turn to surprise you," Olyvia said, "One of the few for today, since it is your birthday. Now walk forward, but carefully because I can't see over your shoulders."

With a quiet chuckle, Steve did as she said, carefully moving forward. With her guidance, or lack thereof, they bumped into quite a few items of furniture before Olyvia finally sat Steve down. From the way the seat felt, Steve deduced he was at the table. Olyvia pulled her hands away to reveal that he indeed was at the table, a _large_ plate of food set in front of him.

"What's this?" Steve asked.

"Breakfast," Olyvia replied, "An omelet and home fries, and sausage…and toast and…some fruit…can you not tell what it is?"

"I guess I should have rephrased the question as…what is this about?"

"Steve, it's your birthday, you don't make your own breakfast today," Olyvia replied, taking a seat next to him where she had her own plate, which was significantly smaller, "Plus, I wanted to. Now, would you like some orange juice?"

Steve smiled, "You spoil me."

"That wasn't an answer."

"Yes please," Steve chuckled.

Pouring him a glass, she slid it over, and gave him a peck on the cheek before going back to her own breakfast. Steve went ahead and dug in, the food as good as always. He definitely was spoiled, to have a fiancée that cooked that well. Luckily for him his metabolism burned through everything easy, or else he was sure he'd end up getting fat. Or at least pudgy.

Finishing his breakfast in record time, he went to pick it up to take it back into the kitchen when Olyvia snatched it away and scurried toward the sink.

"I could have gotten it," Steve said.

"No, it's your birthday," Olyvia retorted, "You are to be sit around and be lazy today."

Getting to his feet, Steve walked over behind Olyvia, and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder as she rinsed off the plate.

"I don't like being lazy though," Steve said.

"Then find something to preoccupy yourself, you're not doing any work today as long as I'm around," Olyvia said.

Turning his face so it was burrowed into her neck, Steve feathered a few kisses across her skin.

"Not preoccupy yourself with that," Olyvia said, "You remembered what happened last time right?"

"You're not cooking though," Steve argued.

"But I'm holding a plate, which can break if I drop it," Olyvia rebutted, "And broken plates can hurt."

"But it's my birthday."

"Oh so you're going to pull that card?"

Reaching over, Steve grabbed the plate, and set it aside before turning Olyvia around in his arms. Holding her close, he gently pressed his lips against hers. Olyvia draped her arms over his shoulders, running one hand into his hair at the nape of his neck. Her heart panged sharply as she realized how terribly she missed being able to feel his skin, and his hair tangling around her fingers. How long would it be before she could feel that again? Or would it never happen?

"Surely a few kisses isn't pushing things," Steve said when he pulled away, then he noticed the look on Olyvia's face, "Did I do something wrong?"

She shook her head, "No, you could never do anything wrong."

"We both know that is a lie."

Olyvia cracked a smile, "You can't do any wrong on your birthday then."

"I'd still argue that, but I won't, not today," Steve said, "Seriously though Livy, is something wrong?"

"I just miss how things were before…this," Olyvia said, moving a gloved arm in front of his face so he knew what she meant, "I don't feel anything now."

Steve's brow furrowed in worry, "We'll find a solution."

"You've been saying that," Olyvia said, draping her arm back over his shoulder, "But let's not dwell on it today. Today is supposed to be a happy day, not a doom and gloom day."

"Then I guess you're going to have to give me a few more kisses," Steve said, brushing his nose against hers.

Olyvia smiled before leaning in and doing just that. A second later, she thought she saw a flash of light, so she opened her eyes as she pulled away and looked over to her left, to see Dianne and Rosemary peeking around the corner, a camera in Dianne's hand. Seeing they had been noticed, they ducked back around the corner, and she could hear them scurrying further away, Rosemary giggling like a giddy schoolgirl as she did so. Olyvia rolled her eyes with a sigh, "Siblings."

"They don't seem so bad."

"You've never had a sibling, you don't know what you're talking about."

"I had a really close friend who was like a brother to me, does that count?"

"Did he annoy the hell out of you most of the time?"

Steve thought for a moment before replying, "Pretty much."

"Then I guess it _sort of_ counts."

Giving him a few more kisses, Olyvia pulled away from Steve's hold, mostly because she was starting to sweat from the heat of being up next to him for those few minutes they had been standing there, "So what shall we do first today?"

"Uh…what all is there to do?"

"Games!" Rosemary exclaimed, suddenly appearing next to them before disappearing again.

Olyvia rolled her eyes, "Whatever you want to do, but if you'd like to play some board games, or try your hand at some video games, we can. If you'd rather go draw for a while you can do that."

"I want to spend today with you," Steve said.

"Then…a walk? Or games," Olyvia suggested.

"It's really not safe for you to go out," Steve said, shooting down her first suggestion.

Olyvia sighed, "I'm already starting to suffer the effects of cabin fever, I'd _love_ to get out of here for just a few hours."

"We already have plans tonight to go out."

"On the roof, to watch the fireworks," Olyvia pointed out blandly, "Not exactly the same."

"I'm sorry," Steve apologized, cupping her face with one hand and caressing it lightly with his fingers, "I promise I'll take you out sometime soon, if you really are getting stir crazy."

"I am," Olyvia replied quickly, "Really, really, really, really, _really_, stir crazy. I'm about as crazy as anyone can get."

Smiling, Steve bent his head down and gave her another kiss, "Then I'll make some plans."

"Later though," Olyvia said, "Right now, we're focusing on you so what do you want to do?"

"I guess we'll play some board games then."

"Yay games!" Rosemary chirped from wherever she was in the penthouse living room.

Olyvia shook her head, "I hope you don't mind too much with Rosemary intruding upon your day."

"It's fine," Steve assured her, "As long as you don't abandon me with her."

Olyvia laughed, "Never. I'm not _that_ evil. Plus, today is supposed to be a good day for you, so I'll keep my evilness down to a minimum."

Wrapping a hand around one of Steve's she led him into the living area, where he would choose what game they would start out with. For having a day start out as nicely at today was, Steve had no idea how horrible it would end.

* * *

After half a game of Monopoly, they decided to call it quits before having lunch. It was after lunch, and Olyvia was cleaning everything up, that Bruce came out and asked to speak with Steve. Olyvia went to follow, but Bruce stopped her.

"Just Steve," Bruce said.

Olyvia was confused as to what Bruce would have to tell just Steve, instead of the two of them, but just shrugged it off and went back to her business. Following Bruce back to the lab, Steve's mind was just reeling wondering what he could possibly want to talk to him about. Bruce didn't say anything the whole trek to the lab, and remained silent once they reached it until Steve took a seat.

"I have some bad news," Bruce said quietly.

Steve sighed heavily, "Is there anything but? How bad of news?"

Bruce pursed his lips, and didn't say anything for a few seconds, before asking, "How much do you want children?"

Steve froze, "Why are you asking this?"

"Because of what I found," Bruce replied, "The radiation…it's made it…nearly impossible for Olyvia to conceive."

Steve dropped his gaze to stare numbly at the floor, "How…how do you know for sure?"

"From a recent test I ran," Bruce replied, "I wanted to see the extent of the radiation damage, instead of focusing on the brain and the cell mutation. And as long as the mutation continues…her chances of having children decreases even further. I'm sorry that I didn't find this earlier Steve."

Running a hand down his face, Steve forced back tears. This had to be the worst news he had received yet. Not only did he have a chance of losing Olyvia, he wouldn't be able to have kids if she did survive. He wanted children, so this was just another twist to the dagger that had pierced his chest the first day of hearing the extent of Olyvia's condition.

"That's…not all that I found though," Bruce added quietly.

Not all? Steve let out a sorrowful sigh. He wasn't sure if he could handle more bad news.

"The progression of Olyvia's condition…it should complete itself by mid-August at the latest, within the first few days of next month at the least."

Steve couldn't hold back the tears this time, and they came spilling over. Of all days for Bruce to make these discoveries and tell him, it had to be his birthday. This was officially the worse birthday ever.

"Why is it you just wanted to tell me this?" Steve asked.

"I thought you ought to know first," Bruce replied, "I'll speak to Olyvia afterwards about this of course."

Steve nodded numbly, and got to his feet, "I need to go."

"Again, I'm sorry."

Steve hardly heard him as he left, his mind still in a daze over the news. His tears wouldn't stop, and he didn't even bother wiping them away. At this point he had no desire to celebrate his birthday, and just wanted to go back to his room and wallow in his grief for a while. On his way through the penthouse back to his room though, he was intercepted by Olyvia.

"What did Bruce—," she stopped abruptly when she saw the tears on his face. Closing the distance between them she placed her hands on Steve's face, wiping away the tears, "Oh my gosh, Steve, what…what did Bruce say to you? What did he…find?"

"He wants to talk to you as well," Steve said, "So he can tell you. I…I'm just going back to the room. I need some time alone."

"Are you sure?" Olyvia asked, "You don't want me to stay with you."

Steve shook his head, "I really just need a few hours to myself. I'm sorry if this…ruins any plans you had, but maybe later…"

Olyvia nodded, "Sure…later. I'll just go…talk to Bruce then, I guess."

Moving away from him, she headed toward the elevator to get to the lab while Steve continued on his way to the room. He didn't even feel that going to the gym would help at this point, crying until he couldn't anymore was all he wanted to do. Life just enjoyed torturing him too much. Reaching the room, he laid down on the bed and let his tears fall. This was just too much to process.

* * *

Steve had fallen asleep while in the room, and woke up to the feel of something cool and soft caressing his face. Blinking his eyes open, he found himself looking into Olyvia's eyes, which were slightly red from her own tears, from where his head lay in her lap.

"You look awful," Olyvia said, trying to make light of the situation, but her voice was sad, and cracked over the words.

Reaching up, Steve brushed his fingers over her cheekbone, "And you still manage to look beautiful, as always."

Olyvia smiled sadly, "Liar."

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked.

"Asleep, I don't know, but it was four hours ago that you went to see Bruce," Olyvia replied.

Sitting up, Steve ran a hand down his face before moving it back up over his eyes as he let his head rest in his hand. He felt Olyvia's hands on his shoulders, soothingly massaging his taut muscles.

"I'm assuming you've already spoken with him," Steve said.

"I have," Olyvia replied quietly, "And I have to say…I wasn't quite expecting what he told me. I understand why…you wanted to be alone for a while."

Dropping his hand, Steve turned to his fiancée to see the look of anguish on her face, which made his heart pang sharply in his chest.

"I never expected…things to go so wrong," Steve said lowly.

"We'll survive…I'm sure."

"We still haven't answered the question to whether _you'll_ survive though," Steve said, starting to get upset again, "It's killing me…not knowing. And then if you do we can't—."

He trailed off there, his emotions swelling up in his chest and more tears pushing to fall from his eyes, but he pushed right back, trying his best to stay strong.

"We can always adopt," Olyvia suggested.

"It's not the same though," Steve said sadly.

"No it's not…but we'd love them all the same," Olyvia said, then at an attempt to get Steve to smile, "You'd be a better father than Odin I'm sure."

Steve gave her a look saying he was clearly not amused.

"This isn't something to joke about Olyvia."

"I'm just trying to put a smile back on your face," Olyvia explained, "I don't like seeing you like this."

"I think I'll only be able to smile again once you're back to yourself."

"I'm still going to try my hardest to put one on your face before then though," Olyvia told him, "Starting after dinner. You still have to open your birthday presents after all."

Steve groaned, "I think I'm done with surprises today."

"These are good surprises though, I can assure you of that. So…shall we go have some dinner? I still have to make it, but you can watch me cook this time. So it's one less surprise."

"I'm really not that hungry."

"The super soldier not hungry?" Olyvia asked doubtfully, "Highly improbable."

Grabbing his arm, she gently tugged on it until he stood up along with her. When she tried to get him to follow her out the room, he wouldn't budge, standing still as stone. Though she was perfectly capable of picking him up and carrying him out, she wasn't going to force him to go anywhere.

"Steve…please try to at least enjoy the rest of your birthday," Olyvia said, sounding slightly hurt, "I worked hard to put it together."

"I know…and I'm sorry," Steve apologized, "It's just…"

"Just what?"

Lifting a hand, Steve cupped Olyvia's face, the tips of his fingers weaving into her blond curls, "I might lose you…before we even had the chance to start a life together."

Olyvia's face fell, "I know it's hard not to think like that…I even—."

"Or be together," Steve interrupted, his cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment for having mentioned _that_.

Olyvia's cheeks flushed red as well, "I-I…well…um…y-y-you do know my opinion—."

She was cut off by Steve crashing his lips against hers, burying his hand further into her hair to hold her there and wrapped his other arm around her waist to pull her flush to his body. Olyvia was indeed surprised by his fervor, and that he seemed willing, almost eager, when before he was so adamant on waiting. Breaking away a few minutes later, Steve moved his lips to her neck, giving her the chance to speak.

"Okay, I'm discouraging, I'm discouraging," Olyvia said breathlessly, placing a hand against Steve's chest and pushing him away slightly, "Steve, we shouldn't."

"You didn't feel that way before."

"I know, but before—," she was cut off once again as Steve kissed her, having to start again when he broke away, "But before I wasn't in this severe of a condition. Steve…I want to wait until we're married, because by then I'll be back to normal."

"We don't know if that is even possible," Steve said, starting to choke up.

"You keep telling me that we have to believe that we will find a cure, so I'm believing right now," Olyvia said, "Plus…it wouldn't even be the same. Steve…I can't feel anything with my hands. It just…it just wouldn't be the same. To be unable to feel anything…when I touch you…"

To prove her point, she placed her hand on the side of his face, tracing her fingers along the contours of his cheekbone as tears sprung to her eyes, "It just wouldn't be the same. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from."

Steve nodded, moving his arm around her waist to reach up and grab her hand, moving it to his lips where he kissed the palm, "I understand…I'm sorry."

"Again with the apologizing. Stop apologizing."

"So—," Steve began, but Olyvia cut him off before he could apologize, yet again, placing a finger over his lips.

"So…dinner now?" she asked.

Moving her hand aside, he said, "Just one more thing."

"What's that?"

"I love you," he said quietly, resting his forehead against hers, "For always."

* * *

After having their meal of stuffed chicken breasts, garlic mashed potatoes, and a mix of cooked greens, Rosemary teleporting in and stealing some of the vegetables from Olyvia's plate through the whole eating process, they moved the short distance to the couch in the living room to open presents. Rosemary, Dianne and Loki were invited to participate with this, and then have cake afterwards. Stark and Pepper had added a few to the pile Olyvia had made for Steve before they left that morning so when Olyvia handed one to Steve first, he looked at it warily, not exactly wanting to open it since it was from Stark only. There was no telling what it could be.

"I'm sure it won't bite Steve," Olyvia said as he continued to stare at it.

"Knowing Stark, it could very well bite," Steve rebutted.

Olyvia had to agree to that because it was so true.

"Just open it already, I want to see what it is!" Rosemary whined.

"Can't I open it later?" Steve asked, "Somewhere without other people around?"

"I was hoping you'd open mine last though," Olyvia said quietly.

With a sigh, Steve ripped away one end of the wrapped present. It was box shaped, medium sized, so of course Steve was worried what it would contain. Peeking through the hole he had made, he sighed in relief when he saw it was just a thick book. Pulling away the rest of the wrapping paper, Steve glared at the cover, while Rosemary and Dianne snickered. _2013 For Dummies_, it said, written by Tony Stark himself. He had comprised the book himself apparently to just tease Steve for being so far out of touch with the modern world.

"Hey, could Loki borrow that after you're done?" Dianne asked, "It just might come in handy."

Loki shot a glare at his wife, who only smiled lovingly back at him. Loki's gaze softened, because he couldn't be upset with his wife for long, especially when she leaned in to give him a kiss. Seeing this, Rosemary pouted.

"I'm starting to miss Juan," she complained.

"Okay, I do not want to know why that was brought up after seeing a couple kiss," Olyvia said, handing another present to Steve, "So let's continue with this, shall we?"

Since this present was from Stark and Pepper, Steve didn't hesitate to open it. It was another leather jacket for him, since he was starting to wear his old one out quite a bit, this one being just a little darker brown than his original. Then the next present from the two made Steve groan. It was a laptop, and a confusing one at that. Even Olyvia and Dianne were a little lost at how to get it on for one.

"Stark just loves torturing me."

"Well, at least you have your own laptop now," Olyvia said, "Instead of the one S.H.I.E.L.D provided to you."

"I don't…use these much though," Steve muttered.

"You might eventually, so…that'll give you enough time to figure it out," Olyvia said.

With a shrug, Steve set it aside, placing it on top of the book so the cover would stop taunting him. The next present said it was from Dianne, Loki and Rosemary, though Loki had little part in putting the present together, Dianne just decided to slap his name on there so he wasn't left out in the gift giving. Their present to him was a photo album, the first few pages of pictures of Olyvia through her younger years, so there were quite a few with other siblings and parents in there, before the following pages were filled of ones Rosemary and Dianne stealthily took during get-togethers, along with a few the couple were actually aware of.

"You were stalking me?" Olyvia asked.

"Not stalking, we were blatantly obvious about the picture taking, you just were so enamored by your beau you didn't notice," Dianne replied.

Looking back to Steve, Olyvia smiled when she saw one on Steve's face, as small as it may be.

"A smile! We have a smile!" Olyvia said, throwing her arms around Steve's shoulder and planted a kiss on his cheek, "Mission accomplished."

Steve couldn't help but smile a little wider at that, and turned his head to give her a kiss on her forehead. Looking back to the album, he looked over the last few filled pages, the last picture in there being the one Dianne had taken that morning, a post-it stuck onto the plastic with the words "_Awww how cute!"_ written in Rosemary's bad handwriting.

"Thank you," Steve said to the two sisters and Loki as he shut the alblum.

"And there is plenty more room to add more of your own," Rosemary said.

"I think he could tell that," Dianne said to her sister.

"Okay, the last two," Olyvia said, handing the smaller of the two to Steve.

It was very book-like in shape as well, and opening it up, saw it was a sketchbook. Olyvia then explained to him that she noticed the last time he was drawing in his that he was close to the last pages of it. Now it was on to the last one. Steve had been eyeing it throughout the day, wondering what it could be. It was large, but thin. It had to be two and a half feet by a foot and some odd inches, and hardly an inch in depth. Ripping off the paper, Steve just stopped and looked at it for a few seconds. It was a hand drawing, in pencil, of him and Olyvia, one he mentioned being his favorite picture back in May when he was staying in Ashland with her. It was beautifully done, and framed in a simple wooden frame.

"That took a while to do because I had to draw in secret without you barging in," Olyvia said, "Which you did a few times and I had to quickly throw something over it."

"So that's why you took out the easel with your laundry last week," Steve said with a smile.

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise," Olyvia said, "Though I almost ruined the drawing by doing that. You startled me so I had to act quick and I…put a little too much power behind it."

"Obviously," Steve said, "I thought you were mad at me for a second."

"What is it? I want to see it!" Rosemary pestered, teleporting around to try to get a look at the drawing.

"Midget! Cease! Desist! Shut up and stay still!" Olyvia scolded her sister when she climbed on top of her to try to get a look at the drawing.

"But I want to seeeeeeeee," Rosemary complained.

Grabbing her sister, Olyvia set her back down on her butt on the couch. Crossing her arms, Rosemary began to pout, until Steve pivoted the drawing and she got a look at it.

"Awwwwww! So cute!" Rosemary squealed, "Livy, you are so talented."

Olyvia's cheeks flushed pink, "Thanks."

"She's right, you're very talented," Steve agreed, "And thank you. I love it."

"All I really wanted to do was put that smile back on your face, which I have," Olyvia said, "So my job is done. For today."

"Can we have cake yet?" Rosemary asked.

"Midget, you're a pest," Dianne just about hissed, "This is not your birthday, so stop being so pushy!"

"But…cake…," Rosemary whimpered.

"Are you ready for cake Steve?" Olyvia asked.

"I…uh…yeah, I guess I am," he replied.

"Then we'll have cake."

"Yay! Cake!"

* * *

Olyvia was a little sad to see her hard work of decorating the shield cake being cut into and eaten up, but that was what it was meant for. Over half the cake was gone by the time Rosemary and Steve were through with it, though Olyvia was sure her sister was the one who ate more. After eating the cake, with ice cream of course because it was just so much better, they spent a few more hours playing board games until dark when they hurried to the rooftop. They had an excellent view of the fireworks, and Rosemary was completely captivated by them. Living in such a small town, she had never before seen such a magnificent display. Olyvia was a little too distracted by her fiancé to pay much attention, since he refused to let her go from where they sat watching, his arms wrapped firmly around her waist. Steve got a few whacks to the back of his head by Dianne for spending too much time creating his own fireworks than actually watching.

With the spectacle over around a half hour later, it was time to go to bed. Olyvia was dead tired, due to getting up at _five thirty_ in the morning, and Steve almost had to carry her back to their room.

"I am so sleeping in until ten tomorrow," Olyvia groaned as she laid down on her side of the bed once she had changed into her pajamas.

"I'll try not to wake you then," Steve said as he laid down beside her.

"You better not, because tomorrow isn't your birthday, you wouldn't be able to get away with it," Olyvia said tiredly.

Reaching over, Steve pulled her to him, burying his face into her hair, "Then I guess I have to do this now so I won't have to bother you in the morning."

Olyvia sighed contently, "I can live with that."

Holding her there, Steve's mind began to wander, mulling over the day's events. Tears stung his eyes again upon remembering Bruce's diagnosis. Wrapping his arms tighter around Olyvia, he squeezed his eyes shut, his tears sliding down onto Olyvia's blond locks beneath him. He couldn't live without her.

* * *

It took too long to find them, but now that she had, she still had to wait before she could make her move. Sitting on top of a building not far from the Tower, Amora watched the tower, and the occupants inside. She had been there for a few days, waiting for her chance to strike. As she sat there, pondering over her next move, a tall, burly man came up behind her. His stature and mass would make Thor look insignificant.

"When do we move?" he asked.

"You are impatient Skurge," Amora replied, "We still need to wait, for the most opportune moment. I don't want to chance losing what is mine from bad timing."

Skurge growled, "Then why have you brought me here?"

"I may not have time to fetch you when the opportunity presents itself," Amora replied, getting to her feet and sauntering over to the man, placing her hand on his chest and gazing up into his eyes, "So just wait. A little longer."


	11. Chapter 11

**A warning to my readers. My laptop has been freaking out on me so the next update might take longer due to this stupid piece of technology trying to die on me and making it more difficult to get this story written. So I apologize in advance for any time delays with future updates.**

**avengergeek1: I just hope I get Skurge right so I don't disappoint. And thank you. :)**

**harrylee94: Well, since his Asgardian…ness was taken away, I'm using the Jotun attributes with the whole not tolerant to fire thing. (All my knowledge is just research, I've actually never read comics. My mom has, but not me. She's a huge fan of the comics. Hmm…no, it'd be awkward asking her for help.) And you really need to stop staying up to 1 in the morning. Go to bed!**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: Eh, there will be a little more beating up Livy this chapter. Poor Loki and Steve get it worse though. Hehehehe.**

**Avalongirl55: Thank you so much! And I know, I'm horrible to Livy and Steve, but don't worry things do get better! (You'll have to wait until the next installment to see what I really mean though.)**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Stark and Pepper arrived back at the Tower the following day, Pepper having to drag Stark in due to him having a terrible hangover. Rosemary teleported over to him, and began chatting his ear off about all the fun they had yesterday, making Stark cringe since she was talking too loud for him. Pepper kindly led Rosemary away, informing her that Stark needed to take a nap since he was up all night.

After his nap, he found Steve and started pestering him about the birthday party, asking him what he thought about his presents. Steve just glared in response, and said nothing, instead going back to sketching, in his older one since he still had a few pages left. Plus, he had a plan for the new one.

"Have you even looked at the book?" Stark asked when Steve remained silent for a good thirty seconds.

"Why would I?" Steve asked irritably.

"Uh, because you are still partially living in the 40's," Stark replied.

"You just made that to poke fun at me, not help."

"That is only partially true," Stark said, "I did too want to help."

Steve rolled his eyes, not believing a word of it. Stark opened his mouth to say something else when he stopped as Olyvia came running into the room, silencing her own footsteps, and dove under the coffee table in front of Steve.

"Uh…what is going on?" Stark asked.

"Shh, we're doing a hide-and-go-seek version of training," Olyvia shushed Stark, "I'm hiding from Rose—."

She was cut off as the floor beneath her shot up, squishing her in between it and the table, which then caused the table to fly up, almost to the ceiling, and fall over, Olyvia landing on top of it. She lay there groaning in pain as Rosemary teleported over.

"Ha-ha! I got you first, you're it next."

"Ow."

"You alright Livy?" Steve asked in concern, moving to kneel down beside her.

As Rosemary began walking away, Olyvia ripped off her right glove, and placed her now completely iced hand down on the carpet, sending a trail of ice under Rosemary's feet, causing her to slip and fall on her face. Stark let out a strangled cry when Olyvia removed her hand from the carpet.

"You're ruining my floor!" he exclaimed.

Olyvia slipped her glove back on, "Sorry. I'm sure you have the means to fix it though."

Stark frowned and stepped down onto the frozen hand shaped patch of carpet, hearing it crunch beneath his shoe. The temperature of her hands were that cold, it caused the carpet fibers to freeze, and instantaneously. It was also discolored slightly too, so he would definitely need to replace it.

"Was that really necessary Livy?" Rosemary asked as she pushed herself to her feet.

"Yes, yes it was," Olyvia replied, "No go find Dianne and Loki."

"Loki is participating as well?" Steve asked.

Olyvia nodded, "Yeah, and he's the last to be found _every time_. I swear the guy cheats."

"He doesn't have his magical cloaking powers anymore though," Stark pointed out.

"Doesn't mean he doesn't cheat."

"And why are you guys in my living room?" Stark asked, looking to and from the two sisters, "Aren't you supposed to stay in the gym?"

"Well…there aren't many hiding places in the gym," Rosemary muttered.

Stark sighed, "You are going to destroy my house."

"Destruction is fun!" Rosemary exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air as she ran off, "Woohoo let's break some stuff!"

Stark cringed as he heard yet another wall being broken.

"You better fix that!"

"I will!" Rosemary shouted, her voice growing distant.

"Now! Fix it now! Not later!" Stark shouted back, chasing after her, "Get back here!"

Olyvia just shook her head, and got to her feet as Steve helped her up, "I think she's trying too hard to be like Toph."

"Whoever that is."

"Character in a T.V show we watched," Olyvia explained simply, "She didn't take crap from anyone and walked to the beat of her own drum. Did whatever she wanted, not caring for the consequences."

"That's not like Rosemary though. She's…a little more conscientious of others than that."

"Yeah, but she's just going through a phase right now," Olyvia said, "Hopefully it'll be over within a few more weeks. I'm actually starting to get tired of all the Toph quotes. Who would have thought that I, Olyvia, the quoting machine, would get tired of quotes?"

Grabbing the coffee table, Steve put back upright and in its correct place before sitting back down in the chair he had been in previously, "Of course, I don't even realize when you are quoting because I haven't seen anything you have."

"Not entirely true," Olyvia said, "You've watched quite a few movies when you were staying at my apartment. Oh…speaking of which I'm going to have to send my rent check today."

"You better get that done then," Steve said, "Don't want you getting evicted."

Olyvia nodded, and turned to go, when she stopped seeing Steve had his sketchbook. Walking backwards over to the chair, she sat down on the arm before sliding down into his lap, giving him plenty of time to move the book and his pencil out of the way so she wouldn't squish either.

"I thought you were going," Steve said.

"I wanted to see what you were drawing," Olyvia replied.

"Oh, just the view," Steve replied, opening the book to show her the graphite architecture.

"Wow…I could never draw that."

Steve rolled his eyes, "I doubt that. You're a talented artist yourself."

"Straight lines though," Olyvia said, "Without a ruler, they're the bane of my existence."

Steve chuckled, "I guess you wouldn't be able to draw it then."

Giving him a peck on his cheek, Olyvia hopped back to her feet, "I'm going to go write that check now. I'll see you later."

"So you're done training too then?"

Olyvia groaned, placing a hand over her stomach, "I definitely have a bruise, so yeah, I'm done."

Heading off, she disappeared into the hallway, and Steve went back to drawing. He wasn't able to concentrate on drawing for long though, his mind going back to the moment when Olyvia removed her glove. He hadn't seen the extent of the damage in over a week, so he was surprised to see how far it had gotten, already past her wrist on her right arm. His heart grew heavy. He really hoped Bruce found a cure soon.

* * *

Over the following week, Olyvia tried to focus her attention on anything that would keep her from thinking about the ever progressing mutation. After a week, her left arm was ice all the way up to her elbow, while her right arm was just a few inches shy of the joint, and for her legs, it had already reached her knees. Stark had more fabric made, and Pepper made longer gloves, and thigh-high socks for her. At this point though, Olyvia was expecting a body-suit needing to be made for her. At least she was able to get out for a day before things got this crazy and Steve even more protective over her. It would probably be the last time she would be able to go out in a long time.

She was in the gym training, along with Dianne, Rosemary, Loki and Steve, using this time to vent her frustration. Since Loki wasn't as easily affected by Olyvia's ice powers, due to the Jotun still in him, he and Olyvia were almost always sparring partners, such as today. Loki had gotten more used to his abilities, and found out he could also shoot out icicle-like darts, like Olyvia. There had only been a few more accidents of him freezing himself to something lately, one being the elevator door which in turn broke it. That turned out to be an interesting day and Stark wasn't too happy while fixing it after Dianne detached her husband from it. Stark had spent far too much time fixing things with this bunch living here.

As Loki and Olyvia sparred, Dianne, Rosemary and Steve watched, Steve cringing every time Loki landed a hit. He thought Loki was being too hard on Olyvia. Since she was using her powers, her gloves were off, steam coming off in curls from her arms due to the difference in temperature, and they had to keep their distance from each other because she wasn't allowed to make physical contact, a rule she made for herself. Shooting a dart at Loki, he danced out of its way before returning it with one of his, pretty much what they had been doing the last fifteen minutes. Every other time, Olyvia was able to dodge, catch, or create a shield of ice to block it, something new she discovered, which would shatter upon impact since it wasn't very strong. This time she went to block, raising her left arm, but didn't make her shield in time, and the icicle hit her in the forearm. She wasn't sure what to expect with it hitting her, but she definitely wasn't expecting the extreme pain as her arm shattered into hundreds of ice shards. Screaming in agony, she dropped to the floor, writhing in pain as she clutched at the stump of her arm. For having not been able to feel anything before, it hurt like hell now. And the blood that came spilling out began to congeal and freeze due to it touching the small bit of ice at the end of the stub.

"Olyvia!" Steve exclaimed, pushing himself off the wall and rushing to her side.

Loki froze where he stood, staring in horror at what he had done. He didn't mean to do it at all. As Steve dropped down beside her, Olyvia scooted away.

"No, d-don't—don't touch me. I don't—," she managed to get out before clenching her jaw, doing her best to not cry out in pain, though small whimpers were escaping her lips.

Steve stopped where he was, watching numbly at Olyvia, in disbelief over what just happened. Was she really that…fragile now? It happened way too easily. Rosemary began gagging from seeing all the blood, and ran to the door while Dianne hurried to Olyvia's side as well.

"I'm getting Bruce," Rosemary said quickly before running out the doors.

"Olyvia I—I'm sorry," Loki apologized, slowly coming closer.

"It's—it's okay," Olyvia breathed.

"How is this okay?" Steve asked frantically, "Livy, _this_ is not okay! This is nowhere _near_ okay!"

"It's not…Loki's fault though," Olyvia argued.

"No, it's not," Dianne agreed, looking to Steve to see if he felt the same.

He knew it wasn't Loki's fault…but Loki still caused it so Steve was feeling a little torn between understanding and anger. Just a few seconds later though, something happened that made them all freeze, even Olyvia. Her arm started to grow back, the ice beginning to form in the shape of her arm again. It didn't take long, around five seconds later she was back to how she was before. Lifting her arm, Olyvia just stared at it with wide eyes.

"What…in the world…?"

"That was weird," Dianne said, "But in a good way. You have your arm back."

"Yeah…there's that…" Olyvia muttered.

Steve moved closer, and Olyvia pulled out her gloves, quickly slipping them on before Steve reached her, knowing he wouldn't care for his own well-being and risk ice on skin contact. She barely managed to get the last one slipped on before Steve pulled her up and ran a hand over her left arm.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked.

Olyvia nodded, "Back to feeling nothing, so yeah…I'm fine."

Steve's face was crumpled in worry, a flash of anger in his eyes when he glanced over to Loki, before it was extinguished seeing the sorrowful expression on Loki's face. He did not expect nor intend to hurt her like that.

"I think it'd be best if you didn't train like this anymore," Steve said.

"I'm trying to figure out these powers Steve."

"It's not worth you getting hurt like that though," Steve argued, and when Olyvia opened her mouth to retort, added, "Even though you're able to…repair yourself, it's not worth it."

"You are such a worry-wart."

Steve's brow furrowed at the unfamiliar jargon, but didn't bother with getting an explanation for it, since he had an idea as to what it meant, "You know why I worry though. Livy, if you're not careful—."

"Something really bad can happen," Olyvia interrupted, "Yes, yes, I know. But really Steve, what can be worse than what is already happening?"

Steve didn't need to say anything for her to know the answer, and with a sigh, she slipped her arms under his, wrapping them around his broad chest to, giving him a loving hug as she nestled her head in the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to bring up any unwanted thoughts," she whispered, "I'm just frustrated is all."

"As am I," Steve said quietly, returning the hug.

Seeing the two needed a moment, Dianne motioned for Loki to follow her, which he did. They were just about to reach the door when Rosemary came bolting through, Bruce in tow, nearly squishing Loki in-between the door and the wall had he not jumped out of the way in time.

"I got Bruce!" Rosemary exclaimed.

The scientist looked a little frazzled, and the others were guessing Rosemary had teleported him all the way back because her unknowingly doing that tended to frazzle people.

"Oh uh…," Olyvia paused, thinking what to say exactly, "What did Rosemary tell you?"

"She said you were missing your arm," Bruce said, pushing his glasses further up onto the bridge of his nose from where they had slipped down during his trip here, "But uh…it looks like that's not the case."

"What?" Rosemary asked, then seeing her sister in one piece, looked to the ice shards still on the floor, along with a puddle of frozen blood, "But…but…blood!"

"It grew back," Olyvia explained, moving away from Steve and pulling the glove off to show Bruce and her sister, "I don't know how, but…it did."

"Interesting…," Bruce muttered.

"I'm guessing you don't have any clue as to why it happened though," Olyvia said.

"Well…you have the Tesseract's energy in you, I would assume it acted on its own to regenerate your…arm…since its defenses were weakened, making it vulnerable."

Olyvia frowned down at her arm, "Well I guess that's one good thing about having the Tesseract in me. I have an arm."

"I would caution you to take it easy with training and any future battles though," Bruce said.

Olyvia nodded, the frown still on her face, and Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Of course you listen to _him_."

"Well he's the doctor," Olyvia rebutted.

"So being your fiancé I have no say anymore?" Steve asked incredulously.

Seeing the two starting to go at it, Bruce inched away back towards the door.

"That's not what I'm saying Steve."

"Isn't it? You don't seem to care about my opinion anymore," Steve rebutted.

"Not true," Olyvia said tersely.

"No, you're right, what am I talking about," Steve said sarcastically, "You _never_ cared about my opinion, saying my concern was just an annoyance!"

Grabbing Rosemary by her shoulders, Dianne escorted her out of the room, motioning frantically with her head for Loki to follow. Bruce was already out the door, so when Loki hurried on through, Dianne shut the door.

"I think this might be their first big argument," Dianne whispered to Loki.

"Well, no relationship goes without butting heads once in a while," Loki said, "But it's certainly awkward watching one happen."

"They're not going to break up are they?" Rosemary asked in a panic.

Dianne snorted, "No. Come on, Livy is head over heels for Steve, this is just something they need to talk about, get it out, and get over it. Just without an audience. So back upstairs Midget."

Olyvia and Steve were so immersed in their argument they didn't even notice the others leaving, continuing with their little spat as they left the room.

"Well, it was sort of annoying, you hovering over me like an overprotective mother," Olyvia shot back at Steve.

"Olyvia, I love you, so of course I worry about you. Don't you understand that?"

"Steve, you're smothering me with all this worry. Your worrying is _not_ helping me! At this point though, I doubt there is anything else you can do other than worry so do me a favor and _leave me alone_!"

Steve took a step back away from Olyvia, in disbelief that she had just yelled at him. He had heard her yell before, but it was never at him, and it hurt that she was angry with _him_. Was it really that horrible that he worried about her, that she would get angry about it? Seeing the pain on his face, Olyvia realized she had gone too far.

"I'm sorry Steve," Olyvia apologized with a sigh, "I didn't mean to yell."

"No, I think you did," Steve said.

"Steve," Olyvia began, sounding hurt, "you know that I can't control my emotions when I get… emotional."

He didn't say anything, figuring it would just be safer to stay quiet now, and started walking to the door.

"Where are you going?" Olyvia asked.

"Leaving you alone," Steve replied, "Since that's what you wanted."

"Steve—."

He didn't stop, and headed out the door, it slamming shut and cutting her off when she tried talking to him again. Feeling frustrated, and angry with herself for being so emotional and letting it get out of hand and yelling at Steve, she let out an angry roar as she whirled around and punched the wall. Pain erupted in her right arm as the ice cracked, a few chunks falling away. Pulling back her arm, she held back a scream of pain as she nursed it in her other hand. After about fifteen seconds, the pain dissipated and the chunks missing grew back, the cracks disappearing. She pulled on her gloves finally, and wiped away the tears in her eyes, her frustration over what she did with Steve getting to her.

"Oh what have I done?"

* * *

Olyvia didn't run into Steve for the rest of the day, not even at dinner so by the time she headed back to her room for bed she was ill to her stomach from the guilt eating away inside her. She hated herself for being so emotional, and yelling. Steve hadn't done anything wrong, yet she yelled at him. She needed to apologize to him, but she hadn't been able to find him, and that just added to the pain she was feeling, that Steve was avoiding her.

Entering the bedroom, she stopped seeing that Steve was already in bed, and looked to be asleep. Silencing her footsteps so she wouldn't wake him, or if he wasn't asleep so he wouldn't realize she was there, she walked over to her side of the bed. She didn't want to bother him if he were asleep so she could apologize, telling herself she could just do that in the morning, but since he had been avoiding her for the rest of the day, she doubted he'd want her nearby, even when asleep. So grabbing the sheet she used as a blanket and her pillow, she headed out into the living area of their room, and laid down on the couch. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about the day's events. Everything was just going to hell.

* * *

Steve woke up earlier than normal, a glance over at the clock telling him it was four in the morning, but he just couldn't sleep well that night. And looking down to the empty side of the bed, knew why that was. He knew nothing had happened to Olyvia that kept her from returning here, because her missing pillow and sheet told him that she had, but left again. His heart sunk, figuring she really did just want him to leave her alone, and couldn't stand being in his presence that she left. He wouldn't be surprised if she headed over to Rosemary's room to sleep just to avoid him.

Knowing he wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep, he figured he'd go ahead and get an early start to his exercise regimen and got up. After dressing, he headed out into the next room, and stopped when he noticed a lump on the couch, along with the slightest shimmer of frost. Moving closer, his eyes made out Olyvia's face in the darkness, the glow of the New York City lights giving him just enough light to see. The glove on her left arm had pulled down a little during her sleep, and just the smallest bit of her iced skin was touching the couch so patterns of ice crystals were splayed across and down the couch. Steve's stomach dropped seeing a noticeable advancement of the ice after only a day, already halfway up her upper arm. He wondered if Bruce's calculation was correct, if she really had two and a half or so more weeks before this…mutation was complete, or if it was just getting faster and she only had days left.

Being extremely careful not to touch the iced area, Steve moved Olyvia just enough to be able to pull her glove back up to put a good three more inches of cover on it. He couldn't help but wonder how many days were left before her gloves were useless again. Oh he hoped Bruce would be able to find a cure soon.

Kneeling beside the couch, Steve just watched Olyvia for a few minutes, letting his mind go about with its fretting. It was dangerous, apparently, to voice his concerns, but at least Olyvia wasn't gifted with psychic powers so he could still get away with worrying without her getting upset with him. He just didn't understand her though. What was so wrong about him showing concern for her, showing that he loved her?

After watching her for a while, Steve wondered how Olyvia could possibly be comfortable enough on the couch, since he didn't find it all too comfortable to sit in, let alone sleep it, plus she was all…contorted into the corner. It didn't look comfortable at all. So not caring whether she may snap at him later about it, he got to his feet and picked her up, carrying her back into the bedroom where he laid her back down onto the bed. Not wanting to leave her, and being still a bit tired himself, Steve kicked off his shoes and laid down next to his fiancée, wrapping his arms snugly around her waist. Now this was certainly much better.

After a few minutes, Olyvia began to stir, squirming around in his arms. Opening his eyes, Steve waited to see if she would wake, which she did…sort of.

"Where is the train?" she mumbled, her eyes half open.

Steve smiled. Olyvia's half-awake speech was always interesting. He wondered what she was dreaming about now though that he interrupted.

"There's no train Livy," Steve said, "You're at the tower."

"Tower?" Olyvia mumbled, blinking her eyes a few times before saying, "Oh…Steve…"

Well that certainly wasn't the hello he wanted, but he was sort of expecting it.

Rubbing her eyes, Olyvia started again with the talking now that she was starting to become more awake.

"I thought I fell asleep on the couch."

"You did."

"Then why—."

"I missed you," Steve replied before she could fully ask her question.

Olyvia was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I thought you didn't want me around."

"I always want you around," Steve said, "It was you who said you wanted to be left alone."

Tears welled up in Olyvia's eyes, and Steve quickly backtracked.

"I didn't mean that as a jab at you," Steve began.

"No, you're right, I did say I wanted to be left alone," Olyvia said, "But…I had been looking for you all day yesterday and I couldn't find you."

"I went out for a walk to clear my head."

"Oh…," Olyvia muttered.

They were silent for a few moments before Steve spoke again, "Do I dare ask why you were looking for me?"

"I wanted to apologize."

Steve couldn't deny he was a little surprised at that, "Really?"

"What do you mean really? You think I'm not the sort of person to apologize for when I've done something wrong?" Olyvia asked angrily.

"No, no that's not what I'm saying," Steve said, "It's just…usually it takes you…a few hours to calm down. I figured you'd still be angry with me until today."

"I wasn't angry with you Steve."

"Could've fooled me," Steve muttered.

"I wasn't," Olyvia insisted, "I was frustrated, yes, upset, yes, but not with you. Just with this whole situation. I'm sorry that I took it out on you and it came across as me being angry. I love you. You know that…right?"

"I never doubted that," Steve said, "Just my ability to make you happy."

"Can't be happy all the time."

"Well, I can try," Steve said, leaning in and giving her a tender kiss.

Olyvia cuddled closer to Steve, trying to get as close as she could, burrowing her head into his neck, "So I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"And you are forgiven."

Olyvia scoffed, "I don't know how you could forgive me so quickly."

"Because I love you."

"Sometimes I wonder why you do."

Steve pulled back and reached up with a hand to turn Olyvia's face to his, "How could you say that?"

"Steve, I know what I'm like so it is surprising to me that you do," Olyvia replied, "Did I put you under some sort of spell I'm unaware of?"

"Livy, you're the most amazing woman I've ever met," Steve began, "And I guess you have put me under a spell, in a way, and that was from you being you. This…temperamental side of you is just another part of you, and you wouldn't be yourself without it. I don't want you to change that, it's just something I'll have to get used to and steer clear of."

"I shouldn't be yelling at you," Olyvia said quietly.

"I agree with that," Steve said, "Unless I deserve it."

"Not even then."

"You've been pretty good at it anyway," Steve said, "I know you've gotten frustrated with me before and you didn't raise your voice. I know the current situation just became…extremely overwhelming."

"Especially with the worrying."

Steve sighed, "Is it wrong that I show you that I love you in that way?"

"Steve, I'm not completely helpless," Olyvia replied, "I don't need you trying to put me in a bubble where I can't be harmed. I can take care of myself. With all your worrying, it makes me think you think I'm incapable of doing so."

"That's not the case though," Steve said, "It just…kills me inside…thinking that I might lose you, so I'm grasping at whatever I can to keep that from happening. I'm sorry if you think I'm smothering you from doing that, but it's because I'm afraid that if I let up just a little…I'll lose you forever."

Tears began to well up in Olyvia's eyes, "I didn't…I didn't know that was how you felt about that. Sorry for trying to…push you away. Oh geez, now I'm going to cry."

She began blinking hastily to push the tears back. After sniffling a few times, she looked back to Steve.

"I'm glad we talked," Olyvia said.

"As am I."

"Because lack of communication is the number one reason why couples break up," Olyvia said, "So from now on, I'm promising to be completely honest with you if there is something bothering me so they won't bottle up and explode on you again."

"I thought we were already pretty good on that?"

"Obviously not enough."

"Then I promise to be even more open and honest with you as well," Steve promised.

"Your breath stinks," Olyvia said.

Steve chuckled, "Your nose is crooked."

"You love my crooked nose though."

"Yes I do," Steve said, giving it a quick peck to prove it.

"I love you," Olyvia said, burrowing herself against Steve again.

"I love you too."

* * *

As Steve had feared, it only took a few more days before Olyvia's legs and arms were both solid ice. Her movement in them was starting to lessen, which wasn't a good sign. The mutation seemed to slow down though now that it had reached her torso. On her left side, it had sort of split into two, the path of the mutation, one way going down her side while the other crept up along her neck. The right side was going across her collarbone and fanning out, so now there wasn't anything that she could wear to keep it covered since Stark was still working on creating enough of that fabric for a suit to be made, which would spend even more time Olyvia didn't have.

Olyvia was pouting in the walk in freezer Stark had made for her. It was a separate room of his that he had quickly remodeled a few weeks back for her to stay in and be comfortable. With it being summer, it wasn't easy keeping the whole penthouse cool enough for her to not be sweating or melting so this was the only alternative. And now, it was her permanent place of residence. Plus, she could touch anything in there without it being an issue. She felt so isolated and alone in there though she was begging with whatever higher power she could think of to please help _someone_ find a cure for this curse, or to just end her misery. She was staring up at the frosted ceiling, pleading silently in her head, when she was suddenly pulled from her stupor by a voice she recognized.

"Livy?"

Snapping her head down, she smiled when she saw her fiancé entering the room, "Hey. I was just thinking I'd like some company."

Steve walked over and sat down next to her, wishing he could hug her, but the chances of him touching her mutated skin were high, and he knew she would never forgive herself if she inadvertently hurt him.

"I figured you might," Steve said, "Has anyone come to see you since yesterday?"

"Everyone has," Olyvia said, "but no one yet today. What time is it anyway? I don't have a clock."

"It's almost dinner time," Steve said, "And I'm sorry I wasn't able to come in earlier. Bruce had me busy."

"Good news I hope?"

"No news is good news," Steve said, "At least with the news he's been giving us, I'd say no news is good news."

Olyvia nodded in agreement. He hadn't seemed to be able to get anywhere with his research.

"Though he told me he might be close finding something to help," Steve said.

Olyvia looked up at Steve with hope in her eyes, "Really?"

Steve nodded, "Of course, he started spouting off with scientific jargon that I had no clue what he was saying, so don't ask me what it was that made him think he was getting somewhere."

"Okay, I won't," Olyvia laughed.

It felt like it had been ages since Steve had heard her laugh last, and it lifted his spirits slightly hearing that beautiful sound again. Reaching up with a hand, Steve gently caressed her face, gazing into her twinkling blue eyes.

"Careful," Olyvia cautioned.

"I hope Bruce finds something soon," Steve said quietly.

"As do I," Olyvia agreed.

As Steve leaned in closer, Olyvia again cautioned him about being careful, but Steve didn't care too much at the moment and gave his fiancée a loving kiss. Oh there was nothing greater he wished for than for her to be normal again. Well…as normal as she ever would be.

* * *

It was a few days later as Steve was sitting in the living room of the penthouse, waiting for dinner to be ready since it was Dianne's night to cook, when Bruce came running into the room. The fact that he was running caught Steve's attention. Bruce never ran, not when he wasn't hulking out, so something was happening.

"I found it," Bruce said, slightly out of breath from his run.

"Found…what?" Steve asked.

"A possible solution to Olyvia's mutation," Bruce said.

Steve jumped to his feet, "You mean you've found a way to cure her."

"Possibly," Bruce said, "I can't make any promises, but I have a good feeling this will work."

"Then why are you out here and not working on it?" Steve asked.

"I need to get the proper materials, since I can't get them here," Bruce replied before turning to Stark, "I thought you'd be able to get me to the places I need to in order to acquire these materials."

"Sure thing," Stark agreed, getting to his feet, "I'm guessing you'd rather take the jet than ride piggy-back?"

"Jet," Bruce replied.

"Then pack your bags, we're leaving now."

With a nod, Bruce turned around and hurried back towards the elevator. Steve stood there in a daze for a few moments, in disbelief that Bruce finally had a breakthrough. Olyvia could very possibly be cured now, if everything went as Bruce calculated it to go.

"You going to tell Livy the good news?" Stark asked as he passed by Steve.

Jolting out of his stupor, Steve turned to Stark, "Yeah, yeah, I was just—."

"Standing there," Stark interrupted, "So go talk to her."

"Wait!" Dianne called from the kitchen, "You can take her dinner too while you're at it, that way it'll be one less trip."

She came out with a plate of food, handing it off to Steve before returning to the kitchen. On his way to Olyvia's room, he bumped into Bruce again.

"How long do you expect to be gone?"

"If things go smoothly, by tomorrow morning," Bruce replied.

"And if things don't go smoothly?"

Bruce thought for a moment before replying, "Late tomorrow morning. We'll definitely be back before noon though."

Steve breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you Bruce."

"Oh don't thank me yet," Bruce said, "I still have to help Olyvia."

Steve nodded, and Bruce gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before continuing on his way. Doing the same, Steve headed the rest of the way to Olyvia's room. She was laying down on the makeshift bed in there, which was now covered in a layer of frost. It worried Steve that that didn't seem to bother her. Seeing him, she sat up.

"Yay, dinner," Olyvia said unenthusiastically.

"Dianne cooked it."

"Double yay," she said again with the lack of enthusiasm as she took the plate from Steve, "Let's see if I can eat it fast enough before it goes cold in here."

Olyvia started eating and Steve grabbed a relatively frost free seat, pulling it close to the bed so he could sit near her.

"So um…Bruce just told me some more news," Steve said.

Olyvia's shoulders slumped, "Can it wait until I'm done eating."

"He said he found a possible solution for your problem," Steve went ahead and said anyway.

Freezing in shock for a moment, Olyvia could only stare blankly at Steve. Swallowing the bite she had in her mouth, she set down her plate.

"You…you aren't messing with me right?"

"You know I would _never_ joke about something like this," Steve replied.

"But…only a _possible_ solution? Not a sure one?"

"No…," Steve muttered quietly.

"Well, at least possible is better than no solution at all."

Steve nodded in agreement, "Bruce and Stark are leaving right now to get the supplies he needs. They'll be back by tomorrow morning."

Tears of relief and joy sprung to Olyvia's eyes, "So this nightmare may end soon."

"It _will_ end soon," Steve corrected.

Olyvia smiled, "Okay, because you said it, it will."

* * *

With Bruce and Stark gone, it was just the three girls, Steve and Loki left at the Tower. Pepper had left last week for business, Stark insisting she go, just to be on the safe side with Olyvia's issue, so it was easier for Stark to leave the Tower, not having to worry about her with _them_. But when things finally started looking up, someone else had to step in to ruin it all.

Loki was heading back to his room to retire for the evening, where Dianne already was and he assumed already half asleep. Upon entering the bedroom, he looked over to the bed to see how asleep she may be, only to find her held up against the wall above the bed by some invisible force, unable to move or talk. Loki knew instantly who was the cause of this, and whirled around looking for Amora, only to be hit across the side of his face with the butt end of a staff, knocking him to the floor it was such a powerful blow.

"Never did I think _you_ would chain yourself down to a mortal woman Loki," Amora said as she dropped her cloaking, appearing in front of Loki, "You disappoint me."

"Let Dianne go Amora," Loki growled, slowly pushing himself off the floor.

Amora slammed her staff down onto Loki's back, making him hiss in pain as he was pushed roughly back down, "And why would I ever do that?"

"She doesn't have anything you want."

Amora chuckled, "Oh how wrong you are Loki. Of course, the main reason I came here to kill her was to torture you, see how much pain that would inflict, but…it turns out she has something for me after all, as small as it may be."

Loki's brow furrowed in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Now it was Amora who was confused, "You can't feel it?"

She then looked intently at Loki, as if she was searching for something within him, and then laughing a few moments later.

"You're a mortal!" Amora said gleefully, "So the mischievous prince actually did fall in love. How stupid of you to throw away your powers for a simple girl though, now you can't protect her."

Jutting out a hand, a ten inch long icicle shot out and embedded itself into the right side of Amora's ribcage. She let out a gasping cry as she stumbled backwards, giving Loki the chance to stand up.

"H-how did you—?"

"You never had the chance to hear of my true parentage, did you?"

Ice formed around Loki's right forearm, curving slightly like a scimitar from his arm, and he lunged at Amora, slicing down with it. She brought up her staff just in time to block the blow.

"A Jotun?"

"You sound surprised."

With a kick, she sent him sliding back a few feet, before she cried out, "Skurge!"

Loki's stomach dropped as the giant of a man stepped out from the shadows behind Amora, axe in hand, looking to kill.

"Shit."

* * *

"Mr. Rogers?"

Steve jolted awake to JARVIS's voice, blinking wildly to clear his eyes of the sleep still in them.

"Yes JARVIS?" Steve replied, though he still felt odd talking to the A.I because of the fact that he spoke into thin air.

"There is a commotion in Mr. Odinson's room," JARVIS informed him.

Steve's first thought was why would JARVIS bother telling him what was going on in Loki's room, before it clicked in his head that something was wrong. Throwing off his covers, he quickly pulled on a shirt.

"Do you know what exactly is going on?" Steve asked.

"I detect two more individuals other than Mr. and Mrs. Odinson inside," JARVIS replied, "And if my calculations are correct, it seems there is a fight occurring."

"So you can't see into the room?"

"There is nothing in the rooms programmed for me to 'see', as you put it," JARVIS replied.

"Well that's good to know," Steve muttered, before heading to the door. His stomach was just tying itself into knots, believing he knew who was here. Amora. But then…who was this second person?

He was just about to reach Loki's room door when something broke through the wall just the other side of it, slamming into the opposite wall, cracking it. He jumped back, and looked down to see it was Loki crumpled onto the floor.

"What's going—," Steve started to ask before he was hit in the jaw and sent flying backwards.

"Get Rosemary and Olyvia and get out of here!" Loki ordered as he shakily got to his feet and walked toward the gargantuan man that stepped out from the hole.

"But—," Steve began, not wanting to leave Loki alone up against _that thing_.

"GO!" Loki shouted.

But before Steve could even get back onto his feet, Loki was hit again by the large man and tossed into Steve, taking them both down. Looking back towards the intruder from where they lay on the ground trying to disentangle themselves, they saw Amora step out into the hallway as well, an unconscious Dianne tossed over her shoulder.

"I shall fetch the little child," Amora said to the man, lightly caressing his arm with her fingers, "Deal with these two and fetch me my prize, Skurge."

"As you wish, my lady."

Skurge ran towards them as Amora swiftly headed the other way, swinging his axe down at them. Steve threw Loki behind him before rolling out of the way of the axe's head and jumped up to his feet. Running back into his room, he grabbed his shield to offer him some protection before heading back out to help Loki, since Skurge went after him first. Attacking from behind, Steve threw his shield at Skurge's head, which hardly affected him as it bounced off, ricocheting off the walls a few times before returning back to Steve. He had hardly enough time to catch it and move it in front of him to block Skurge's axe, which gave off a screeching ringing sound as it hit.

"Impossible," Skurge rumbled.

Steve didn't care what Skurge thought impossible and hit him again with the shield, but again it hardly did anything. This guy was just way too strong. Hand in a fist, Skurge punched Steve in the face, and again he was sent careening backwards. Lifting a hand to his face, he wiped away the blood from his broken nose. Okay, this guy was definitely too strong.

With Skurge turned around, Loki shot more ice at him, and Skurge roared in pain before whirling around and going after him again. Steve was about to go at him again when he cringed as Rosemary screamed. Looking behind him, he saw Amora go flying out through the wall, Dianne's body rolling out after her. With an angry roar, Amora got back to her feet, and disappeared. Steve wasn't sure whether to try helping Rosemary out, or keep Skurge from getting to Olyvia.

"Skurge! Get the girl!" Amora shouted from wherever she was.

Making his decision, Steve went after Skurge again as he broke through the ceiling and jumped up onto the next floor. Steve followed his path of destruction, while Loki hurried down the hall to Dianne, seeing her just lying there. Before he could reach her though, Amora appeared, Rosemary slung over an arm, and grabbed Loki by the neck, slamming him up against the wall as she squeezed.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to kill you yet," Amora said as he clawed at her hands, "I want to see the look on your face when I kill your precious _Dianne_ first. But not here. I have use for her first."

Amora kept the pressure on Loki's neck, and he tried everything to get her to let go, even using his ice, but she had created a magical barrier to keep him from touching her. He kept fighting though until he didn't have the strength to lift his arms anymore, and his world went black.

* * *

As Steve went after Skurge, he couldn't get the guy to slow down at all. With just a few hits, Steve was sent a three rooms over and into the penthouse. He was running back to Skurge when he heard Olyvia screaming. He pushed himself to go even faster, and arrived in time to see Skurge go flying backwards, screaming in agony as he nursed a black spot on his arm. Olyvia came running out, one glove off, and towards Steve. Skurge was surprisingly fast though, and snatched her by her other arm, throwing her back and past him so she didn't have anywhere to escape.

"Steve!" Olyvia shouted as Skurge fell upon him again.

Grabbing Steve by the neck, Skurge then slammed him into the floor, over, and over, until it felt like all his bones had snapped in his body. He was unable to move when Skurge released him to grab Olyvia to stop her from attacking him, and his vision was starting to fade. Skurge began dragging her away, dodging out of her reach as she tried hitting him again with her iced hand.

"Steve! Steve!" Olyvia screamed as she fought tooth and nail against the giant of a man.

As hard as he tried to get himself back up, his body just wouldn't cooperate, and then seconds later everything went dark.


	12. Chapter 12

**So I've finally got this chapter written! Sorry for the time delay. Not only was my laptop wigging out on me, the spacebar broke off. Do you know how hard it is to type without a spacebar? With a week of practice, I am now getting the hang of hitting the one little spot where it will put the space in. Not to mention I've been sick all week and all I wanted to do was sleep and play video games, because typing required too much brain processing. Anyway, I'm going to stop complaining and put this chapter up. Oh, and I expect there to be…either one or two more chapters of this story before we're onto the next one. So we're getting close to the end.**

**Avalongirl55: This chapter still has quite a bit of action. Next chapter though should be more of the happy/cheesy you wanted.**

**MorWolfMor: Nothing good, I can tell you that. And thank you.**

**harrylee94: Hey, you didn't explode this time. So you were talking Norse Mythology. I don't recall seeing anything about the fire thing, but I could have scanned over it. Oh well, I am sticking more to the comics…I think…I'm not sure how much of the two I'm mixing together. I need to research better.**

**Xandrea: Hehehehe. Cliffhangers and explosions. So fun!**

**kakirovich: Yes, I am evil. EVIL! I just love cliffhangers.**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: I ended it like that because I want to make you all suffer! No, I'm just kidding, I just find it fun to do. Thus making me evil. Cliffhangers are so fun! (I don't think the readers will be happy with me at the end of this chapter…)**

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Pain wracked Steve's body as he found himself being shaken awake. Opening his eyes, he found Stark was the one shaking him by his shoulder.

"Finally," Stark said, "I'm gone for just fourteen hours, _fourteen hours_, and you make a mess of my place. What'd you do, have a party? And who Hulked out? Livy?"

Steve pushed through his pain and forced himself onto his feet, feeling his bones pop and crack as they moved back into place. Pushing Stark aside, Steve followed the path of destruction leading back towards the penthouse. He was still hoping Olyvia managed to get away, or beat the two intruders. There was little chance that she could have done that though. He stopped when he reached a broken window. It looked like they had gotten away.

"What happened Rogers?" Stark asked as he came up behind Steve, "Where is everyone? Where's Livy?"

"Amora," Steve said, turning around to Stark, "She took the girls."

* * *

Magical binds sucked. There was no way to break out of them and Olyvia's super freezing ice powers had no effect. So they were stuck, wherever they were. They were still on earth at least, but they were in some abandoned looking building, with small windows way high up so they couldn't get up there and look out. Well, Dianne could fly up there, without their babysitters watching, but they were too small for her to fly through and she didn't recognize their surroundings either, so yeah, they were royally screwed.

"Look, all you want is me, why did you have to take my sisters?" Olyvia asked when Amora appeared in their prison, "Let them go!"

"Oh, I thought all I needed was you, but they have a little to offer me as well," Amora said.

"Offer you what?" Olyvia asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Amora smiled as she walked over to Rosemary, who was blindfolded and gagged so she couldn't teleport anymore, and her sonic powers would be muted. Amora held up her hand at Rosemary's chest, who then arched backwards with a muffled cry of pain as a blue energy was drawn out from her and into Amora's hand. Amora inhaled deeply, a look of satisfaction on her face as she absorbed the energy into her own body. Rosemary then crumpled down onto the floor, going completely still.

"Rosemary!" Dianne cried, seeing her sister just lying lifeless on the floor.

Olyvia could only stare in horror at Rosemary before looking to Amora, "They have the Tesseract's energy in them too?"

"Which is why I didn't kill them right away," Amora said, "Of course, with the little amount in them, I doubt taking it will cause much damage to them. Just hurt and weaken them."

Olyvia looked back to Rosemary, sighing in relief seeing the slightest rise and fall of her chest.

"You however," Amora continued, "I do not believe you will survive it."

That wasn't new news to her so it didn't have the same scare factor as it originally had, but what really scared her was that Amora just might take the energy from her right now, killing her before she had the chance to say goodbye to Steve.

"Of course, preparations still have to be made before I can take it from you," Amora said with a sigh, "Being an Asgardian, the energy won't affect me as it did you, but I still have to take precautions. So say your goodbyes to your sisters, because even if you do survive the transferal, you will die anyway."

Turning on her heel, she strode back out of the room. Once the door slammed shut behind her, both Dianne and Olyvia scooted over to Rosemary since their feet were magically bound along with their hands.

"Are you alright Rosemary?" Olyvia asked, "Are you awake? Say something!"

Rosemary didn't respond so Dianne kneed her in the butt, "Midget! Wake up!"

Rosemary let out a disgruntled groan, scooting away from her sister, followed by a long series of muffled words that they couldn't make out. They were sure she was chewing Dianne out for kneeing her in the posterior.

"Sounds like she's alright," Dianne said.

Olyvia nodded in agreement. Rosemary was so easily annoyed so it was a good sign that she was with Dianne, that meant she wasn't freaking out over being kidnapped, unlike Olyvia.

"We need to get out of here," Olyvia said.

"Well, if you have any ideas, I'd be glad to hear them," Dianne said, "Because Mr. Lumbering Oaf is standing outside the door."

"Mmhmm hmmm mmm?"

"What Midget?" Dianne asked.

"Whuit. Way. Ihoor?"

"Which way is the door?" Olyvia guessed.

Rosemary nodded as she slowly sat up, and Dianne used her knees to pivot her towards it.

"You're looking at it now," Dianne informed her.

She then scooted around, and then began inching forward. Dianne and Olyvia looked at each other in confusion, wondering what she was doing, until her feet hit the wall. With a kick, a three foot wide and four foot tall square portion of the cement wall broke away. Using her earth manipulation powers, she moved it back and set it aside. Olyvia scooted over to the hole, and looked out.

"Well, that was a good idea, but we're on an upper floor."

"Dihah! Dihaaaa!" Rosemary tried shouting.

"What?" Dianne asked in annoyance.

Rosemary turned to the sound of her voice, and scooted closer, until she bumped into her, and then mimicked laying across her back. Dianne's eyes went wide in horror.

"You think the two of you are going to ride down on _me_?"

Rosemary nodded, and Dianne scoffed.

"I could just maybe carry you, Livy, no way. She's far too heavy."

"Hey!" Olyvia cried out indignantly.

"You're all muscle, so of course you're heavy," Dianne reiterated, "Plus…well, your icy self might touch me and I'd be in a world of hurt. I saw what you did to the lummox."

That Olyvia had to agree to. It was far too dangerous to try that.

Rosemary began trying to talk again, and with a sigh of frustration, Olyvia scooted over, and then warned her sister she was going to try to get the gag off before using her teeth to grab at it. Hey, she had no use of her hands, plus one didn't have a glove on, and the only thing available to her was her mouth. Rosemary made gagging sounds of course, but soon Olyvia had gotten the thick fabric pulled away from her mouth.

"Gross," Rosemary muttered.

"Oh shut it."

"Think you could get my blindfold?" Rosemary asked.

"Uh…," Olyvia took a look at it, "No, I don't think so, it's tied too tight. I don't have anything to grab."

Rosemary sighed, "Well, at least I can talk now."

"Oh god, Livy what have you done to us!?" Dianne wailed.

"Shut up! I have a plan," Rosemary said.

"What, use Dianne as a glider? Not going to work."

"Then how about she leaves?" Rosemary suggested, "And brings everyone back here to save us."

"I'm not leaving any of you here alone with that witch," Dianne argued.

"But I might not have the time for them to find us on their own," Olyvia said, "So you should go, and take Rosemary with you if you could."

"But—." Dianne began.

"Amora will kill both of you if you stay! So go while you have the chance."

"How am I going to take Rosemary if she can't hold on?"

"Her wrists are bound together, have her get her arms in front of her then loop them over your head," Olyvia replied.

Dianne frowned. She didn't like this idea of leaving Olyvia here with that blasted sorceress. But… what chance did the others have of finding them in time?

"Alright," Dianne agreed, "So you better get your arms elsewhere Midget so you can hold on."

Rosemary nodded, and rolled over onto her back, tucking her knees up to her chest as she wriggled her arms around and under, before pulling them up in front of her. Dianne moved in front of her, and Olyvia instructed Rosemary where to move her arms so they were slung around Dianne's head.

"If you choke me, we both die, just so you know," Dianne warned.

"I'll try not to choke you," Rosemary promised.

Dianne first tested how well she could fly with Rosemary on her back, and being able to stay afloat relatively easy, she headed out through the hole. Olyvia watched as they left, her stomach just twisting itself into knots from her nerves. She hoped they wouldn't be caught. Just as she was thinking that though, Amora was suddenly out there, chasing after them, using her magic to fly through the air. Olyvia wanted to look away, but she couldn't, watching with bated breath to see what would happen. Dianne was doing her best to dodge Amora's attacks with her staff, but with Rosemary on her back, she couldn't maneuver as well. With a well-aimed hit, Amora ripped Rosemary's arms from around Dianne's neck, and she went careening to the ground.

"No!" Olyvia cried, watching helplessly as her younger sister disappeared behind some buildings.

Dianne tried to fly down after her, but Amora kicked her in the gut as she dove downwards. Grabbing her by the back of her collar, Amora hit her a few more times in the head before heading back toward the building. Olyvia scooted away from the hole before pausing and reconsidering her options. The fall wouldn't kill her, only shatter her legs and most likely arms as well, which would grow back. But…looking back through the hole it was sounding like a very stupid idea. It would hurt like hell, and there was no telling what damage would be done to her normal body so she was definitely changing her mind about that stupid, stupid idea. But then…it brought up another idea.

She was starting to scoot away from the hole in the wall when she was suddenly pulled backwards. She gave a small yelp of surprise as she found herself being thrown to the other side of the room, landing all sprawled out across the floor. With a groan, she looked over her shoulder to see that big guy, which she vaguely remembered Amora calling him Skurge when they left the Tower, was the one who had thrown her. He watched her intently and Olyvia didn't dare move in case he would try hitting or throwing her again for doing so. A few minutes later, Amora walked back in and threw Dianne down onto the floor next to her. Blood was running down the left side of her face, and she was looking a little lethargic. Amora must have hit her hard.

"I suggest you don't try escaping again," Amora said, then looked over to Olyvia, "And I hope you said your goodbye to the little girl because she's dead now. An insignificant such as herself could never survive a fall like that."

Telling Skurge to keep an eye on them, she left once more. Skurge stood in front of the hole, blocking their one exit, but with him here now, that tossed Olyvia's second idea out the window. She didn't think she could get away with it being watched.

"Is Rosemary really…gone?" Olyvia asked as Dianne sat back up, leaning against the wall.

Dianne's face fell, "I…I think so. She still had the blindfold on and we both know how much trouble she has with teleporting without the aid of sight."

Olyvia squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think of the possible fate of her sister, "She…she could have though. We both know what fear can do with our abilities."

A tear slid down Dianne's face, "I can only hope that will be the case."

* * *

Okay, that had to be the most terrifying moment in Rosemary's life. Never again did she want to fall from a great height. Flight would be an absolutely lovely power to have. At least with her earth powers, she was able to sense how far from it she was, and with a surge of adrenaline, she squeezed her eyes shut, thought of her room at Stark Tower, and teleported. Feeling solid ground under her, she opened her eyes, and sighed in frustration seeing the blindfold was still on. Why couldn't it have _not_ followed? Then she realized her hands were free, the magical bind on her gone. So she tried moving her feet, to discover she had a shoe missing. Lovely, somewhere in New York was her left shoe.

From the lack of city noise, Rosemary figured she had to be inside a building. She just needed to get the blindfold off to see where she was. Reaching up, she began working at the knot, but it was just too darn tight.

"Ugh! Monkey feathers! Who ties knots this tight?" Rosemary exclaimed, tugging even harder to try to loosen them.

After trying a few seconds longer to loosen it, she gave up and just tugged up the cloth covering her eyes, pulling it off her face as well as pulling out a few dozen hairs. She blinked in surprise at her surroundings. She actually made it back to Stark Tower. Running out into the hall, she began searching for the others.

"Tony? Steve? Loki? Bruce? Hello! Is anyone here?" Rosemary shouted.

She stepped through holes in the wall until she made it to the penthouse, where Stark and Steve came rushing over, having heard her shouting. Stark made a beeline to her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"You okay kid?" Stark asked, checking her over for injuries, "What happened?"

"Well, when I woke up last night, that Amora chick was standing over my bed," Rosemary began, "I only know it was her because Livy told me that's who she was when we woke up later this morning. She knocked me out and took us somewhere near the water. I only got a brief look before they blindfolded and gagged me, but it smelled like Dad's work, like fish, so definitely near water."

"How's Olyvia?" Steve asked.

"Fine…for now," she replied, "Amora is planning on taking the Tesseract's energy from her, and soon."

Steve began to panic, pacing around in a circle as he ran a hand through his hair. Stark walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Just calm down Rogers, we'll find them in time," Stark said.

"How?"

"Well, we already have our search narrowed down, somewhere near the water," Stark replied.

"That smells really badly of fish, oh and is abandoned," Rosemary added.

Loki finally made his way into the room, and seeing Rosemary asked, "Is Dianne alright?"

"She should," Rosemary replied, "I don't know how kindly Amora may have reacted to our escape attempt."

Loki let out a mournful sigh, "If only I hadn't asked to become mortal, I could have stopped Amora, she never would have been able—."

"Oh don't put all the blame on yourself," Stark interrupted, "And it's not like you knew this was going to happen."

"Perhaps not, but even so, without magic, you may not have any chance of defeating her," Loki said, "She is, unfortunately, a master. Only my father and I were greater masters of magic than she."

"Then how are we going to beat her? If what you say is true?" Steve asked.

Loki sighed again, "I'm sure my father could grant me with my powers once more, but I would first have to try to contact Heimdall, which isn't as easy as you may think, he watches over many worlds he may not be paying attention to this one right now. Then he'd have to send the message to Odin, so again, it would take time."

"Then why are you wasting it now?" Stark asked.

Loki glared at him slightly before he turned to go. He didn't get far though before they heard what sounded like the crack of lightning, followed by a tremor through the building.

"Whoa…something just landed on the roof," Rosemary said, looking up toward the ceiling.

"How can you tell?"

"I've been working on Toph-like techniques, such as feeling the earth and locating things through vibrations. And since I'm missing a shoe, I was able to tell," Rosemary replied.

"JARVIS, who is on the roof?" Stark asked the A.I.

"Two men who look to be these Asgardians you mentioned, sir," JARVIS replied, "Their garb is similar to what Mr. Odinson wore his last visit."

Loki shrunk down a little. This…disembodied voice remembered him from so long ago?

"Let's go see who our visitors are then," Stark said, motioning for Loki and Steve to follow.

"Wait, where's Bruce?" Rosemary asked, following behind the three as they headed toward the elevator.

"In the lab working on the cure for your sister," Stark replied.

"Oh, ok, that's good."

She continued to follow until they reached the elevator and Stark placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"You stay down here."

"Why?"

"Because I said so," Stark replied.

"Okay, fine," Rosemary muttered.

Rosemary wandered off back towards the demolished penthouse living room while Stark joined the other two in the elevator to an upper floor where they took the stairs that led to the roof. Stark moved ahead of the other two, and cautiously opened the door. He sighed in relief when he saw the two visitors.

"We were just talking about you," Stark said as he swung the door open completely, letting Steve and Loki exit and see Thor and Odin walking towards the billionaire.

"Heimdall sent us word that you required our aide," Thor said.

"Well that was fast," Steve muttered.

"It's Amora," Loki said, moving ahead of Stark to intercept his brother and father, "She's been causing trouble here and kidnapped Dianne and Olyvia."

"And Rosemary," Stark quipped.

"She got away though so my concern are the two still missing," Loki said to Stark before speaking to his father, "I can't help Dianne with how I am now."

"So you wish to have your powers back," Odin stated rather than asked.

Loki nodded tentatively, afraid his father would tell him, too bad, you made your choice.

"Then I shall grant them back to you," Odin said.

Loki had to admit, he was a little surprised Odin agreed to do it right away. He thought he would have to try convincing him at least a little.

"Shall we go inside first?" Odin asked.

Loki nodded, and they followed him and the others back inside. As they walked, Loki explained to them what happened, how Amora surprised them, and what she was after.

"We can't allow her to get her hand on the Tesseract's power," Thor said.

"Certainly not," Odin agreed, "And you Loki most certainly would have found it difficult going up against her without your powers."

"Well…at least my Asgardian magic," Loki said, "As you said might happen when you took my powers away, other Jotun abilities have…arisen."

Odin looked at him intrigued, as well as confused, so Loki showed him exactly what he meant by making a spear of ice around his hand.

"I see."

"Even so, still not enough to go against Amora," Loki said.

"Not with her black magic," Odin said, "So let us go somewhere private where we shall attend to granting you your powers."

"What, is it supposed to be some secret ritual?" Stark asked.

"There just really isn't any need for you to be present," Loki replied.

Stark rolled his eyes and motioned for Steve to follow him as he left them in the hallway. Thor followed as well, since he didn't need to be present either. Once they reached the penthouse, Rosemary jumped up from her seat on the couch upon seeing them.

"Oh, hi Thor," she greeted, "You've come to help?"

Thor nodded, "I've heard your sisters have been abducted by Amora and she is not easily dealt with, so Father and I have come to offer our aide."

"Yeah, she's proven to be a real pain in the butt," Rosemary growled.

"You know Rosemary, one of these days I'm going to hear a curse word from you," Stark said.

Rosemary rolled her eyes, "I don't curse. I've always tried not to so I doubt I will."

"Right, everyone snaps eventually," Stark said, "The Captain for instance, he's cussed me out a few times and he's the one that grew up in a time where the majority of the population had ideals."

"You just really annoy me Stark," Steve said, "It's hard _not_ to snap at you."

Stark looked ready to retort, but with Odin and Loki walking in at that moment he shut his mouth, deciding it would be best to not start any arguments because that's what it'd wind up being. Not to mention his retort was cut short by Loki's appearance, who was in his full Asgardian garb again, helmet and all, and a spear in his hand.

"What's up with that helmet?" Rosemary snorted, trying her best to hold back her laughter.

"It's an Asgardian helmet," Loki said, "It's always been what I wore."

"So do you head-butt people as an attack or something?" Rosemary snickered.

Seeing Rosemary found his appearance distracting and humorous, Loki removed his helmet, causing it to just disappear in thin air.

"Better?" Loki asked, somewhat annoyed.

"You don't look like a mountain goat, so yeah," Rosemary said with a grin.

Loki rolled his eyes, and turned to Stark, "So are we ready to go?"

"Let me get my suit!" Stark said, running off elsewhere.

"Right, suit," Steve said before heading off as well.

"I should probably find mine too," Rosemary said as she followed after Steve, since her room was in the same direction.

"Well hurry it up!" Loki said, "We don't have the time!"

"You don't have to tell me," Rosemary retorted, "I'm the one who told you about how soon Amora was going to act."

Loki pursed his lips. She did have a point. Oh he hoped they still had time and that Amora hadn't done anything to Dianne or Olyvia. If she had hurt Dianne at all, or worse, he was going to kill Amora himself.

* * *

It wasn't long after their escape attempt that Amora returned to the room and used her magic to repair the damage done to the wall, allowing Skurge to leave and help her with whatever she needed him for at the moment. A few minutes after he had left, Olyvia carefully got to her feet and began hopping around the room.

"What are you doing?" Dianne hissed, worried her sister would get caught and in serious trouble with the sorceress.

"Testing something," Olyvia replied just loud enough for Dianne to hear.

She continued hopping around the room, looking for something, Dianne didn't know, until she stopped next to an exposed metal beam in the room where the sheet rock had eroded mostly off of it. Dianne's brow furrowed in confusion as Olyvia sat back down and proceeded to attempt moving her arms to where they were in front of her.

"Now what are you doing?"

"Still the same as before," Olyvia said, having success finally with getting her arms where she wanted them, and stood straight once more.

Taking in deep breaths, Olyvia stared at the beam, trying to muster the guts to do this. She knew how painful this was going to be. As she started swinging her arms back and forth a little, towards the exposed metal, Dianne's eyes widened in horror when she realized what her sister was about to do.

"Are you crazy!" Dianne whispered shrilly, "What are you trying to accomplish?"

"These magical binds can't hold something that isn't there," Olyvia said, "I'm hoping I can get myself loose, then wait until the right time to attack Amora so we can get out of here."

"You're going to bleed and make a huge mess though!" Dianne argued.

"I'll deal with it!"

"You'll be screaming bloody murder from the pain you'll be in! This is stupid Livy, don't do it!"

"Sorry Dia, but I have to try to get us out of here."

"Livy no!"

Ignoring her sister, Olyvia squeezed her eyes shut and swung her arms towards the beam. Pain shot through her whole body like lightning as the sound of shattering ice reached her ears, and she bit her tongue to hold back her scream, and hard enough that she drew blood. Forcing her eyes open, she saw her glove slip off her arm due to the weight in the hand, and drop to the floor. She was able to move what remained of her arms, which was from the shoulders down to just above where  
the elbow would be, which was a good sign, the binds were gone. Dropping to the floor, Olyvia writhed in agony as she whimpered in pain, doing her best not to start screaming.

"Told you this was crazy," Dianne said quietly.

"It's fine," Olyvia managed to say.

A few seconds later she stopped writhing, and began taking deep breaths to try to soothe the pain. Like the last two times, it was around fifteen seconds later that her arms began to form again, the pain diminishing to nothing once it completed. Lifting her arms, she sighed in relief seeing that her plan had worked and her hands were no longer bound. When she looked down at her feet, Dianne quickly intervened.

"No, don't even think about it."

"Too late," Olyvia said, "But I think I'm going to just stick with the free arms. Hurt too much."

"I warned you."

"I hope it's worth it though," Olyvia said, then looked to the puddle of iced over blood on the floor, "Now to clean this up before Amora comes back."

* * *

After kicking aside the frozen mess to an area Amora would be least likely to see, Olyvia pulled the glove back on her left arm, sat back down beside her sister and moved her arms behind her back once more so Amora wouldn't catch her having broken free of her bonds. Now they just had to wait for her to come back. It wasn't too much longer though, apparently she didn't need Skurge long for whatever she needed him for, before returning to the room. It was a good thing Olyvia didn't take long hiding her mess.

"Now first things first," Amora said as she walked up to Dianne, who glared up at her upon her approach.

Holding out her hand, Dianne's body tensed, then she slowly began to rise up from the floor, Amora using her magic to lift her from the ground. Amora then turned her hand, to where her palm was facing upwards, and Dianne let out a strained cry of pain as the wispy blue streams of the Tesseract's energy were pulled from her body. It didn't take long for the process to occur, a few seconds later Amora pulling her hand back, taking in the energy as Dianne collapsed onto the floor. Olyvia's heart jumped into her throat as Amora turned to her.

"The Tesseract will finally be mine," Amora whispered, almost as if she were saying it to herself, as she lifted her hand once more.

Before she could do anything though, Olyvia jumped up, throwing herself at Amora, and grabbed her by her neck with her right hand. She howled in pain as the skin of her neck began to turn black from the ice's cold bit. Skurge reacted before Amora could, using the flat side of his axe to bat Olyvia away. She landed hard on her back, but pushed herself back up into a sitting position and shot a few icicles at the two of them. Amora dropped down out of the way while Skurge used his axe to block her shot. Amora scrambled back to her feet, breathing heavily from the pain, and used her magic to lock Olyvia's body up to stop her from attacking further. Glowering murderously at Olyvia, Amora strode towards her, pulling her up to where she was floating just an inch off the floor.

"You have thwarted me for the last time," Amora seethed, "The Tesseract will be mine, and there is no one who can stop me. No one can save you now."

With another twist of her hand, Olyvia felt the energy being drawn from her, physically draining her despite how tense her body was from the pain of it, as if every cell in her body was trying to rip itself apart. It didn't hurt this much last time. Was that because the energy had settled into her body in the two months after so removing it would be a painful process? And would it kill her?

Not about to go down without a fight, Olyvia forced her arm to move, trying her best to turn her hand just enough towards Amora, glaring angrily at her. The flow of energy from her body wasn't appearing to stop, but every second she grew weaker, and the harder it became to move. Then she felt an odd sensation come over her body as Amora's countenance became confused. It felt as if a splash of cold water was slowly making its way up her neck, and across her face, before it just disappeared. She was completely out of energy now though, and her vision was starting to fade as Amora held the orb of energy between her two hands.

"Finally, the Tesseract is—."

Amora was unable to finish her sentence, the last thing Olyvia seeing before her world went dark being the sorceress being squished between a chunk of the opposite wall and the one she was standing next to.

* * *

"Are you sure it's a good idea for me to ride with you?" Rosemary asked Stark as she and the others prepared to leave.

"I won't drop you, if that's what you're worried about," Stark replied.

"Hey, I just fell from the sky not even ten minutes ago, I think my worry is understandable."

"That was your sister though."

"It wasn't on purpose."

"So you think I'd drop you on purpose?" Stark asked incredulously.

Rosemary gave him a look, saying "I know you would."

"Okay, maybe I would, but not in a situation where we have to get somewhere quick," Stark said, "If it were a test flight, I couldn't make any promises. So are you coming with me?"

Rosemary looked over to the others, who were going to take a vehicle, Steve the one who would be driving.

"It might be safer with them," Rosemary muttered.

"They're going to be going off my directions though, and I don't know where we're going, you're going to have to spot it for us."

Rosemary groaned, realizing going with Stark would be the quick way to find their destination.

"Okay, fine," she agreed.

* * *

She was starting to regret agreeing to ride with Stark not even a minute into flight. She didn't realize how terrified of heights she was until now.

"I want to ride with Steve!" Rosemary whimpered pathetically, tightening her arms around Stark's armored neck.

"Too late now kid," Stark replied, "Now keep an eye out for the place."

With another whimper, Rosemary forced herself to look down. Oh she was starting to feel sick. She was really missing the ground now.

They were flying over marinas and other buildings near the water, when Rosemary recognized a few structures that she had caught glimpses of when she started to wake as that tank-like guy carried her and her sisters into their "prison."

"There is it!" Rosemary exclaimed, pointing down to a specific abandoned building.

Stark radioed to the others the location, telling them to get there fast. Pivoting downwards, Stark flew towards the building, Rosemary letting out a squeak as their direction changed. This was so the last time she was flying, and decided that having the power to fly wasn't so great after all. Looking to the ground, she teleported to it, then looked up to look for Stark. He wasn't too far behind, landing beside her just a few seconds later.

"Didn't trust my landing abilities?" Stark asked.

"I just wanted to be on the ground again," she replied.

A large raven then touched down beside them, and Rosemary jumped as it morphed into Loki.

"Dude! Don't do that!" Rosemary exclaimed, "How did you do that anyway?"

"With my Asgardian powers, I can transform into anything I so desire," Loki explained.

"Even a girl?" Stark asked.

"I have on occasion, yes," Loki replied.

Rosemary gawked at her brother-in-law. That was something she could have gone her whole life not knowing.

"So this is where Dianne and Olyvia are being held?" Loki asked, changing the subject and ignoring the looks he was getting from Rosemary and Stark.

"Uh-huh," Rosemary muttered.

"Then let's go," Loki ordered.

"Uh, as much as I want to save the girls, we probably should wait for the others," Stark said, "Though I am pretty awesome, it'd be safer for six of us to go against Amora."

"We might not have the time for them to get here though!" Loki argued.

Just as he finished saying that though, one of Stark's cars came skidding around the corner into the dirt lot they were in, Steve jumping out the driver's door almost before it came to a complete stop.

"That was fun," Thor's voice boomed as he stepped out from the back passenger door, "Much faster than a horse. Much faster than the last coach I rode in last time I was here too."

Odin stepped out from the passenger door, looking a little pale, and said with a shake of his head, "Midgardians."

"Which building?" Steve asked as he pulled his cowl on over his head as he approached the three.

Rosemary pointed to the one behind her.

"Then let's go," Steve said, changing his direction to walk parallel to the wall, looking for an entrance.

"Wait a second," Rosemary said to Steve, making him stop.

"What?" he asked.

Walking over to the wall, Rosemary slapped her hands against it, closing her eyes and feeling the vibrations travel through the building. Snapping her eyes open, she looked up and smirked.

"They're up one story, and about thirty feet to the left," Rosemary said, "You guys can find another way in if you want, but Stark, I'm going to need your help getting in this way."

"Why this way?"

"Because I want to give Amora a surprise," Rosemary said with a grin.

Stark nodded, and grabbed Rosemary by the collar of her shirt before taking to the air. Steve, Loki, Thor and Odin all hurried along the side of the building looking for an entryway while Rosemary instructed Stark where to go. Hovering next to the wall, Rosemary slapped her hands against the wall once more.

"Thank you tank for not standing in the way," Rosemary said as she looked up towards the sky.

Looking back to the wall, Rosemary then slammed her feet against it, sending a large section of it across the room. Rosemary grinned in satisfaction seeing it slam flush against the opposite wall. Stark then tossed her gently into the room before landing himself.

"Oh yeah! Take that bi—."

"W-w-wait! Did you almost—?"

Stark didn't manage to get his question out before he was dodging the head of an axe. Rosemary teleported out of range as he swung again, and taking in a deep breath, screamed at him, sending him toppling over backwards.

"I was going to say witch!" Rosemary said to Stark as he floated back down next to her.

"Right," Stark said doubtfully, "Sounded like you were about to say something else that rhymes."

"Dia!" Rosemary shouted when she spotted her sister lying on the ground, quickly averting the subject and getting away from Stark, who went back to fighting the big guy.

She went to rush to Dianne's side when the chunk of wall she had sent across the room tipped over, landing with a thud on the floor, and a pissed off Amora came stumbling through the hole in the wall, seething in anger, her icy blue eyes narrowed in a severe death glare.

"So you somehow survived," Amora hissed, "It doesn't matter, you're too late!"

Rosemary looked around the room, and gasped when she saw Olyvia lying under some of the rubble she had caused. What happened to her?

Snapping back to attention, Rosemary teleported out of range of Amora's scepter, just barely in time to avoid being decapitated. She retaliated with another shout, sending Amora flying head over heels backwards. Rosemary tried keeping Amora in place on the floor by manipulating the concrete floor to form in a box shape over her, but she broke out with a single punch to it. Before she could try anything else, Amora used her magic to hold Rosemary in place, to where she couldn't move or do anything at all. She gasped for air as her body suddenly felt like it was being crushed, her lungs fighting to get the oxygen it needed. She suddenly dropped to the ground, gasping for air now that she could breathe properly, and looking up, saw Steve, Loki, Thor and Odin enter the room, Loki going straight for Amora with his attacks.

Rosemary resumed the battle, helping Stark out with the big guy, just as Thor and Steve were. Loki and Odin concentrated on Amora, the two of them confident they could handle her. Loki could feel the Tesseract's energy emanating off of her, and how her dark magic was tainting that energy. The two together were not a good combination.

Skurge was starting to grow weary from the barrage of attacks from his foes, but seeing Amora needing his help as the trickster and All-Father, he needed to get over there to help her. But with all these people attacking him, he just couldn't find a window of opportunity to do so.

Dianne started to come to, and hearing the din of battle, pushed herself up to see what was going on. She blinked in surprise seeing her comrades, and Rosemary, there. She really didn't expect them to find them in time before Amora would have killed her. She was more than relieved to see Rosemary had survived her fall, and that most likely being the reason they found them.

Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Loki turned, and was overcome with relief seeing Dianne was awake and alert, and aside from the dry blood and bruises on her face, looked to be alright. From that smallest moment of distraction though, Amora struck out and sunk the blade of her scepter into Loki's side, where she had found a chink in his armor.

"Loki!" Dianne cried out as she pushed herself to her feet.

Amora smirked as she kicked Loki away, blocking another attack from Odin with a magical barrier. Dianne began to shake in anger seeing the smug look on Amora's face. She was more than pissed off at the woman for all she had done, ruining her and her family's lives. With a roar of anger, she flew at Amora, tackling her and throwing her into the wall before blasting her with a fireball. Amora quickly put out the flames, and grabbed Dianne by her neck, holding her aside as she hit Odin with another attack, then sent him to the ground.

"How kind of you to come to me that I may kill you in front of your loved one," Amora said as she placed the blade of her scepter to Dianne's heart, giving just a brief glance over to Loki.

"No! Dianne!" Loki cried as he hastily began to push himself back onto his feet.

Amora was about to sink the blade into her chest when she was engulfed by flame that Dianne had somehow spewed from her mouth, causing Amora to drop her. Scooting away, Dianne sent a few more fireballs at her to keep her aflame as she tried to put herself out. With a sweep of her arm, Amora put out the flame, but before she could recover, found Loki right in front of her, followed by a sharp pain in her chest. Looking down, she saw the ice speared through her chest, and her heart gave a few more sputtering beats before it stopped. Loki pulled his hand back, making the ice disappear, and raised a magical barrier over him and Dianne just in time as the tainted Tesseract energy blasted out from Amora's body. Acting quickly, Loki contained it, leaving it nowhere to go before it just disappeared into thin air.

"NO!" Skurge roared as he tried throwing himself at Loki, seeing Amora's lifeless body on the floor, "Amora!"

It took Rosemary continuously shouting down at Skurge, and Thor and Steve holding him down to keep him still before Stark delivered a hard punch to the back of his head, finally knocking the guy out.

"Since when could you breathe fire?" Rosemary asked her sister.

"Since like…ten seconds ago."

"Huh, weird."

"Where's Olyvia?" Steve asked, frantically looking around.

Rosemary turned to where she knew Olyvia was, and used her earth bending powers to clear the rubble away from Olyvia's body. Steve rushed over to her side, dropping down onto his knees as he stared in confusion, disbelief, and horror at Olyvia's still body, his hands hovering just inches away as if he were scared to touch her.

"No. This…this can't be."


	13. Chapter 13

**Wow, only one chapter left after this one, then it's on to part three! I'm excited for part three, is anyone else excited? It's going to be fun! I have so many plans that have fallen together nicely (at least I think so).**

**MorWolfMor: It gets better!**

**harrylee94 (Guest): It was easy to tell it was you from the explosions. I laughed so hard at the exploding from Rosemary almost swearing. It was funny. And I guess all these explosions made up for the lack of them last chapter.**

**Aya-Shoru: I stole your line! And no! I refuse to take meds. I'm starting to feel better anyway. *cough cough* herk bleh.**

**lovinlife83: Yeah, I didn't give her many redeeming qualities. But hurrah, she is gone! And you'll see how Livy is this chapter.**

**Dr. Huff-Puff: Ding ding ding! You got it! Virtual cookies, cheesecake, pie, whatever you want for guessing right! I find it funny how some people thought I just might kill off Olyvia. Do they think I'm **_**that**_** evil? …okay, I have been just a little brutal to Livy so I guess I can sort of understand.**

**Lollypops101: I'm not **_**that**_** evil…though sometimes it is tempting, but I just don't like depressing endings. I am a huge fan of happy, fluffy, unicorns and rainbows sort of endings.**

**Kate499: As mean as I am to Livy and Steve, I could never do that. I think **_**I'd**_** cry. But you'll see what happened.**

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

How did this happen? Olyvia still had two weeks more before Bruce had predicted the transformation to completely take over. So how had it happened in just one day? Steve stared in confusion at what was supposed to be Olyvia. It looked like a frosted over ice sculpture. There wasn't a single spot that he could see that was normal flesh. Even her hair was ice now.

"What happened?" Steve asked, looking over to Dianne.

"I…I have no clue," Dianne said quietly, "She was…fine before Amora got to me."

Turning back around to face Olyvia, Steve reached down to see if he could find any sign of life within her when Stark grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Not a smart move Cap," Stark said.

"But—."

"Just wait a few minutes, I'll be back with something you can carry her with and not give yourself frostbite," Stark said, "We'll take her back to the Tower to have Bruce look her over."

Walking over to the hole in the wall leading out of the building, Stark took off into the air. Dianne then rushed over to Rosemary and enveloped her in a tight hug, saying how worried she was that she hadn't survived the fall. Rosemary returned the hug, a little shocked that she was receiving one from Dianne, before she pulled away a few seconds later. Rosemary then slowly wandered closer to Olyvia, watching her in worry.

"Is she…alive?" she asked quietly.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut to hold back his tears. He didn't want to think of that.

"Hard to tell," Dianne said, "I mean…it doesn't look like she's breathing."

Rosemary burst into tears as she crumpled down onto the floor. Dianne went back over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her again, trying to offer some comfort. She didn't want to lose her sister either, thinking one had died was hard enough, but actually losing one…it would be a hard pill to swallow.

"The Tesseract's energy is no longer in her," Loki said, "That much I can tell. Having it removed… might have been too much for her body to handle."

Which was what Steve was worried about. Bruce had warned them before that could happen.

Stark returned a few minutes later like he said, and handed over the length of fabric he had made that was intended to be used to make the body suit for Olyvia to Steve. Wrapping it around her, Steve picked her up, her body still flexible despite being ice, and cradled her in his arms as he and the others, save Odin and Thor, made their way out of the room. The two Asgardians were going to take Skurge back to Asgard to be put into prison, and left from the building.

With Steve's focus being Olyvia's wellbeing, Dianne hopped into the driver's seat and drove them back to the tower, with a lot of yelling and arguing done between her and Rosemary about whether she was going the right way. Steve remained quiet, keeping to himself the whole ride. He was saying a silent prayer the whole time, that Olyvia was alright, and that Bruce would be able to reverse this.

* * *

Upon their arrival to the Tower, Bruce paused with his work on the possible cure to check over Olyvia. He made everyone leave the room, especially Steve, because his fretting and pacing would only serve as a distraction. Steve wasn't handling not being next to her well though.

"It's been too long," Steve said as he paced back and forth in front of the locked lab door, "Do you think it would take him this long to tell if she's alive or not?"

"Steve, it's been like…not even a minute," Dianne said, looking at her watch, "Give the good doctor time."

"Patience is a virtue," Rosemary chipped in.

"Now is not the time to try to make light of the situation Rosemary," Dianne snapped at her sister.

Rosemary pouted, "Livy would have finished the quote."

"But she's not here," Dianne retorted, "She could be dead for all we know!"

With an anguished cry, Steve slammed his fists against the wall, causing the dry-wall to crack, and dropped his head against it.

"Don't say that," he almost wept.

Pursing her lips shut, Dianne took a few steps away from Steve, towards Loki who wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hold her close, placing a tender kiss on her temple.

"She'll be fine Steve," Rosemary said in an effort to console him, "It's Livy we're talking about. She can go through just about anything and pull through just fine."

"But what if this was too much for her?" Steve asked, "She's not indestructible, she has limits. What if…"

"All we have are questions," Loki said, "We just have to wait for the answers."

"And hope for the best," Rosemary added.

He knew they were right, but he was having so much difficulty being optimistic right now. What he desired most, was just to be by her side, to hold her in his arms again. If she died now, he wouldn't even be able to do that, since the risk of frostbite was still there.

"Someone needs a hug," Rosemary said, walking over to Steve, her arms outstretched.

He turned to her, but made no move to hug her so she went ahead and closed the distance between them and hugged him.

"Oh geez, you are solid muscle," Rosemary commented.

Steve patted Rosemary on the head as he sort of returned the hug with the other arm, "I'm not sure if that was a compliment or what."

"Just a comment," Rosemary replied as she pulled back, "How does Livy find you cuddly? It'd be like cuddling a rock."

Steve just shook his head. Olyvia had told him about the weird things Rosemary said and did, and he knew that from getting to know her, but he still couldn't help but think how odd she was every time another oddity popped up.

After waiting a few minutes, Loki and Dianne decided to head back to the penthouse to wait there instead of in the hallway, leaving Rosemary and Steve there. Steve went back to pacing, and the following minutes ticked by so slowly it felt like hours to him. It was only ten minutes later in reality that the door opened, and Steve whirled around to face Bruce, first trying to read the expression on his face to see if it would tell him Olyvia's condition. He looked relieved, but grim at the same time.

"She's alive," Bruce said.

Steve sighed in relief, becoming so weak with it he leaned against the wall and slid down onto the ground. He ran his hands down his face to better hold back his tears. There was still more to hear, that much he knew.

"But?" Steve hesitated to ask, unable to look at Bruce, instead looked up at the ceiling.

"She's…in a coma-like state," Bruce replied.

"What do you mean coma-like?" Rosemary asked.

"It's more like she's hibernating," Bruce said, "Now that the transformation is complete, her body thinks it's time to rest. She's still alive, her body is functioning as though she were flesh and blood, but she won't wake as long as she's still…"

"Mutated," Rosemary muttered.

"Basically."

Steve slowly got to his feet and turned to Bruce once more, "But you can reverse it…right?"

"I am trying Steve," Bruce said, "It'll take a little to make sure I have the correct calculations so that it will work."

"So it will work?"

"Poor choice of words on my account," Bruce reiterated, "There is always the chance it won't Steve. That's the downside to experimentation."

"Then just how much more time will this take?" Steve asked in frustration, "You're always telling me, just a little longer. You just need a little more time. How much time is enough Dr. Banner?"

"You know I'm trying my hardest," Bruce replied quietly.

Steve sighed heavily, running a hand down his face again. He knew Bruce was working hard at helping Olyvia. He looked like he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in weeks, which he knew he hadn't, and here he was sounding ungrateful for Bruce's hard work.

"I'm sorry," Steve apologized, "I know you are. I'm just…"

"Stressed, upset, irritated," Rosemary listed off, "Just to name a few."

Steve shot a glare over at Rosemary. She wasn't being helpful.

"You can come in now," Bruce said, stepping back into the lab and out of the doorway, "In fact, you might want to take her back to her room."

Steve nodded, and headed inside, making his way over to the table Olyvia was lying down on. It was all frosted over of course, since the fabric she was laying on didn't cover her completely so Steve carefully wrapped it around her again and carried her out, heading back to "her room." Rosemary was gone by the time he left the lab, so he guessed she went off to tell Dianne the news. Reaching the room and laying Olyvia down, Steve stayed in there a few minutes, wishing she would prove Bruce's diagnosis wrong and wake up. Once the chill of the room started to get to him, he got up and just stepped outside the door, leaning against the wall and dropped his head into a hand. Life had gotten too crazy, and with all the bad things that had been happening, the next update he got from Bruce, he prayed and yearned with every fiber of his being that it would be good news.

* * *

A few days had passed since the battle with Amora, and the Avengers were starting to get their lives back on track after having her mess with them for so long. Stark spent his time fixing up the tower enough so it was somewhat livable for the next week or so before he could really get it worked on. The others all waited anxiously for word from Bruce telling them he had finished making the antidote for Olyvia's condition. He worked feverishly over the days following the battle, leaving his lab only once to see if he could get another blood sample from Olyvia, which he did and didn't succeed with. He was able to penetrate the solid ice that used to be her skin and muscle by using a hot needle, but what he drew wasn't blood, instead some other water-like liquid. Seeing the extent of the mutation, he had rushed back to his lab to adjust his calculations, working even harder and faster to finish the antidote.

Steve became even more of a nervous wreck hearing Bruce's discovery, falling even deeper into his pit of depression. Every day was a battle for him to keep his spirits up so he spent most of his time venting his anger and frustration out on some poor punching bag that had seen better days in the gym. When he wasn't doing that, he was in his room, going through the photo album gifted to him on his birthday, remembering the better times, and also spend hours staring at Olyvia's engagement ring that he always kept with him now since she gave it back to him for safe-keeping. It didn't belong in his hands though, there was only one place it belonged, but it just killed him not knowing if it would ever return to its rightful place.

Along with the scientist and solider becoming recluses, Thor and Odin's arrival and departure rose red flags on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar, and since one atmospheric disturbance was right on top of Stark Tower, Fury contacted the billionaire. Stark explained the whole situation to him, including Olyvia's current condition, and that the whole Asgardian business was taken care of. Fury wasn't too pleased, mainly because he hadn't been informed of Olyvia's condition when he should have because "he was the director of S.H.I.E.L.D and she is an agent." Needless to say, the conversation between Stark and Fury ended shortly after that.

It had been a week since Amora's defeat and Steve was once again in the gym, losing himself in the motions of his usual workout, going through bag after bag. He was on his sixth one when he saw Rosemary appear in the gym out of the corner of his eye, pulling him out from his focused mindset.

"Aha! I've found you!" Rosemary exclaimed as she hurried over, and grabbed his arm, despite the fact he was still throwing punches at the bag, which he stopped abruptly when she latched onto him and began tugging, "Come quick! Bruce wants to see you!"

"What about?" Steve asked.

"He's finished the antidote!"

Steve didn't have to be told again, and took off out the doors, leaving Rosemary in the dust once she let go to avoid being dragged behind him. Steve just about beat her to Bruce's lab too, and would have if Rosemary didn't cheat and teleport her way back. Upon reaching the lab, Steve found that Dianne, Loki and Stark were there as well.

"You have the cure?" Steve asked Bruce.

Bruce nodded in reply, "I wanted to talk to you before administering it though, just to make sure you understand that this isn't a sure thing, that there is still the possibility it won't work."

"I know," Steve replied solemnly.

"And I was sure you wanted to be there when I administered it," Bruce added.

Steve nodded, and Bruce motioned for him to follow him after grabbing a needle and syringe. Dianne and Rosemary followed as well, not caring if Bruce wanted them to or not. It was their sister, they were going. Once in Olyvia's room, Bruce heated the needle with Dianne's help, and injected the antidote into her "bloodstream" in her left arm.

"You're welcome to stay, but it's not going to be an instant reaction," Bruce said, as he headed to the door, "It'll take time."

None made a move to leave, so Bruce went ahead and left. Steve sat down next to where Olyvia laid while the sisters stood and watched. No one said anything as the minutes ticked by, just waited with bated breath for something to happen. Rosemary became bored with waiting first, leaving after ten minutes to find something to occupy her time while she waited for news. Dianne stayed for nearly an hour before she too left, feeling depressed due to believing there should have been some sort of sign the antidote was working by now. Steve was going to stay until he saw a change or someone drug him out. He wasn't going to leave Olyvia's side now. A few hours had passed since Bruce injected the antidote when he returned to see if there was any progress. He walked up behind Steve, and seeing no change, sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry Steve," Bruce apologized.

"You really think it hasn't worked?" Steve asked quietly.

"I would have expected some change by now," Bruce replied, "But…there's a small chance it just needs more time."

Clasping his hands together, Steve rested his forehead against them, saying another silent prayer that that was the case and Olyvia would be herself again.

Bruce asked if Steve was going to join the others for supper, his replying being no, before leaving again. Steve ignored the chill of the room and the rumbling of his stomach as he waited, before exhaustion started to overcome him, due to staying up late. It was well into the night, and taking a quick glance at his watch, saw it was past eleven at night. No wonder he was tired. Still not about to leave, Steve made himself as comfortable as he could in his seat, closed his eyes, and let himself fall asleep.

* * *

Steve wasn't sure how he managed to stay asleep in the freezing room, but he woke up seven hours later, looking at his watch in surprise seeing it was six in the morning. He must have been tired. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he then looked down at Olyvia, before rubbing his eyes again to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Olyvia's left shoulder was no longer ice, but the fleshy pink hue of skin, reaching up to a sliver of skin on her neck. Steve jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over in the process, and reached over and pulled off the glove to find Olyvia's entire arm was back to normal. Touching her skin, he found it was still a little cool to the touch, feeling a little clammy, but the antidote was working.

Rushing out of the room, Steve headed to Bruce's lab to see if he was still there. He was, sitting at a desk going over some papers, looking up when he heard the doors open.

"Everything alright Steve?" Bruce asked, seeing as he knew Steve wouldn't leave Olyvia's room without good reason.

"It's Olyvia," Steve said, "The antidote, it's…it's working."

Bruce quickly got to his feet and hurried out into the hall. Heading to Olyvia's room, he stared in shock for a few moments seeing it had worked. After checking her over to see how far it had gone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is certainly a good sign," Bruce said, "I expect it to take…one, maybe two days for the antidote to take full effect."

"Thank you Dr. Banner," Steve said gratefully, so relieved he felt like crying.

"You're welcome Steve," Bruce replied, "Now, we should probably move her to another room, perhaps back to her own room. I don't think being in here will be helpful."

Steve nodded, and picking her up with the special-made fabric, carried her back to their room, setting her down on the couch, so as not to ruin the bed from frosting it over. Now in the privacy of his room, Steve let his tears of relief fall. This nightmare was finally coming to an end.

* * *

Once Dianne and Rosemary heard the news, they came rushing to Steve's room to see Olyvia, bursting into tears of joy seeing their sister was recovering. It was about time this whole mess was over with. After visiting for an hour or so, they resumed where they left off with their daily schedule. Steve still wouldn't leave Olyvia's side, so Rosemary was kind enough to bring him meals. By the end of the first day, nearly the entire left half of Olyvia's body had reverted to its original form. Only part of her face had reverted back, appearing to be the last part affected by the antidote.

Steve waited anxiously the second day for the remainder of the change to happen, again not leaving the room except when he absolutely needed to. By that night, the change had nearly completed, only part of her right shoulder, neck and the remainder of her face and hair still ice. Steve reluctantly returned to the bedroom to sleep once it became nearly impossible to keep his eyes open, still not quite willing to tear himself from Olyvia's side. At least when he woke up, he expected the change to be complete. So waking the next morning, rushed out into the front room to find his prediction was true. Not one hair or sliver on Olyvia's skin was ice, she was completely back to normal. Kneeling down beside the couch, Steve cupped her face with a hand, tears springing to his eyes feeling the warmth of her skin against his hand.

"Livy?" he whispered, hoping she'd hear him and wake up.

He received no reaction whatsoever, so he continued trying to wake her, but after half an hour, had no success. Steve began to panic. Why wasn't she waking up?

* * *

After getting Bruce to have him check on Olyvia, Steve moved her to the bedroom so she wasn't sleeping on a wet couch anymore. He was starting to feel upset again since Bruce was unable to determine a reason for Olyvia remaining asleep. Bruce left momentarily to get some supplies from his lab before returning to the room and getting yet another blood sample from Olyvia, this time it was blood, to see if it could offer any answers. Once he left to check on that, Steve laid down beside Olyvia on the bed, his brow furrowed in concern as he watched her.

"Please tell me you're alright," he whispered.

* * *

Olyvia felt very groggy as she started coming to, making blinking her eyes open rather difficult. Reaching up with a hand, she rubbed at her eyes, trying to help them along with the waking process. It took her a few seconds after thinking how clammy her eyelids felt before it clicked in her head. Snapping her eyes wide open, she looked at her hand in shock. It…it was back to normal. Was this a dream? Lifting her other arm, she stared in disbelief at the pink skin.

"H-how…," she muttered breathlessly.

"Livy?"

Turning her head, she saw Steve sitting beside her.

"Steve, how…am I dreaming?" Olyvia asked as she sat up as well, noting she was back in her original room.

"Thank God you're awake," Steve breathed, "I was beginning to think something else was wrong."

"You didn't answer my question," Olyvia muttered.

"No, this isn't a dream," Steve said, "Bruce made a cure, and it worked."

Olyvia's brow furrowed in confusion, "I…missed a lot then…what happened with Amora? I…I passed out just as she was hit. So what happened? Did we win? Did she get away?"

"I'll tell you later," Steve replied, "Right now, I just…"

Reaching down, he took hold of her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. Olyvia let out a shallow breath of disbelief as tears spilled over her eyes and down her cheeks. She could now feel the warmth, and rough texture of his hands, it had been so long since the last time, she had forgotten how wonderful the feeling was. With her other hand, she cupped Steve's face, who leaned into her hand as she did so as well as closer to her until their foreheads made contact. It was a sweet, touching moment for the two and they just relished in it in silence for a few moments.

"I was starting to doubt I'd ever be like this again," Olyvia whispered through her tears.

"But here we are," Steve said, "Finally. Though, there is still something missing."

Olyvia looked at him in confusion until he fished out her engagement ring from his pocket with his free hand, and took her left hand that cupped his face to slide the ring in its rightful place. Olyvia's lips curled up into a smile as she gazed at the engagement ring, beyond happy that she could finally wear it again. Seeing that smile, Steve couldn't help himself and went in for a kiss, winding his free hand around her neck and buried it into her hair as he pulled her closer. Olyvia melted into his arms for it had been too long since they could just abandon themselves to the sensations, not having to worry about whether she might hurt Steve. Pulling her hand from his, she then threw her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go now. But then the sensations filling their bodies, that wonderful rush, was so powerful it was quickly making it difficult to think straight and behave. Steve had to literally tear himself away in order to stop, getting to his feet and taking a few paces away from the bed.

"This is starting to get dangerous," Steve said breathlessly.

"Yeah," Olyvia agreed, just out of breath as Steve, "I think…it'd be a good idea if I stayed with Rosemary tonight…and for the foreseeable future until we head back home."

Steve nodded in agreement. The two spent a few minutes regaining their breath before Steve spoke again.

"I probably should go tell Dr. Banner you're awake," Steve said.

Olyvia jumped off the bed, only to land in a heap on the floor since her legs weren't accustomed to holding her weight just yet, but she popped right back up, using the bed to help hold herself up.

"I'll go," Olyvia said, "In fact, I think I'll tell my sisters first then see Bruce."

"You sure you're up to it?"

Olyvia nodded, "Yeah, plus it'll surprise them."

So taking off at a limping run, still getting used to her legs, she hurried out of the room. Steve smiled. It was good to see she was back to normal.

* * *

Needless to say, Olyvia scared the living daylights out of her siblings and Bruce when she suddenly appeared, racing about the rooms. She finally calmed down enough in the lab for Bruce to check her over. It was there Steve finally caught up to her, and finally told her the events of what happened with Amora. Olyvia was elated to hear she wouldn't be bothering her anymore, and that there wasn't a single trace of the Tesseract's energy within her, plus the fact she survived that. It was close though apparently, and if her body hadn't completely frozen over as it had, Bruce was sure she wouldn't have survived because it pretty much put her in hibernation mode, where her inner body functions had to only perform at a low level.

Before she could return home, Bruce wanted to get her blood test results first. She agreed to that, but reluctantly agreed to Bruce also wanting to take regular blood tests every two months, to keep tabs on the radiation damage and any cell mutation if the cure didn't turn out to be a permanent solution. If that were the case, he wanted be able to catch any mutation early before it got too far out of hand. That meant going to see Bruce, or him going to her place, every two months in order for him to get the blood tests, and Olyvia didn't like the idea of being pricked and poked so often. Since Steve was all for it, wanting to avoid something like this happening again, she did agree to do it.

Bruce got the blood test results a few days later, giving Olyvia a clean enough bill of health to allow her to return home. So she, along with her siblings, packed up their bags and booked a flight back home. Just a couple days later, they said their goodbyes to Stark and Bruce, telling Stark to say goodbye to Pepper for them as well, before leaving for the airport. They were all taking the same flight out, but Olyvia and Steve would transfer flights later to arrive at the Ashland airport instead of Sacramento where the other three were going, Dianne being Rosemary's ride home. Loki wasn't looking forward to the four hours of solid chatter that would inevitably occur.

"We'll see you in October!" Dianne said as Olyvia and Steve grabbed their things to leave the plane once they had landed.

Olyvia grinned broadly, "You'll get an invitation soon with the date."

Rosemary squealed excitedly, "Livy is going to get married! Oh, this is so exciting! Weddings are great!"

Olyvia ruffled Rosemary's hair as she walked by her, saying a quick goodbye to both her sisters and brother-in-law as she did so before leaving the plane. Once inside the airport waiting for their next flight, Olyvia leaned against Steve to let herself rest a little. She smiled as Steve's arm snaked around her waist, hugging her a little closer. She just loved the feeling of being held in his arms, so warm, safe and secure.

"So three months," Steve said, "Think you're ready for it?"

"I'm sure we'll be able to get everything done in time," Olyvia said, turning her head up to look at him, "But if you're asking if _I'm_ ready to marry you, yes."

Steve smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "As am I."

Wrapping her arms around his waist, Olyvia gave him a good squeeze as she snuggled up closer to him. She most definitely looked forward to the start of their life together.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I had a good one, ate lots of food, probably too much. But here's the final chapter. We started off this story with a wedding, and we're ending with one. Sorry it's rather short, but I covered what was necessary. And keep an eye out for the next story.**

**harrylee94: You despise the word normal? Huh…anyway, yay happy endings! Aren't they great?**

**Xandrea: Hahaha! Thought some would appreciate not having a cliffhanger last chapter. I do it too often don't I? And almost moved to tears? Wow, I must be doing a good job with my writing then.**

**MorWolfMor: Yes, back to normal…well, as normal as she was before.**

**Larryeneno: I don't know if I could ever kill off one of my characters, even though I've been tempted before (with other stories, not this one…well, sort of with this one).**

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***I realized I had made quite a few errors with Dianne's name so I am fixing that. This is what happens when you're writing two different stories and using the name Dianne and Dianna, you mix them up. Oh, and for those looking for Part 3 of this story, the first chapter is up! ...And will have to be replaced because I screwed up with names in that one too.**

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**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Olyvia stumbled over her feet again as Steve spun her around, and would have fallen over had it not been for Steve's quick reflexes and pulled her back to him, wrapping his other arm snugly around her waist. Her mother thought it was a good idea to spend the last few practices of their dancing lessons, which was originally their idea, with her wedding heels on. Her ankles were already regretting agreeing to do so.

"Thanks…again," Olyvia muttered.

"You're welcome," Steve replied with a chuckle.

Olyvia sighed heavily, "There is no way I'm going to be able to dance in these. I can't really dance without them either. How did Mom expect me to catch on quickly with _these_ things?"

"You danced just fine without them the other day, don't sell yourself short," Steve said, "Besides, if either one of us is the lousier dancer, it is most definitely me."

Olyvia rolled her eyes, "Hardly, you can remain standing on your feet for a good five minutes without falling over while I can't."

Steve chuckled, "Even with your klutziness, I still think you're the better dancer. Must be your musicality that helps with that."

Olyvia just shrugged, since there was no point in discussing this. It was silly to argue about and that was what the discussion was starting to turn into.

"Think I'll be able to get my feet straight in a few more days?" Olyvia asked.

"Yeah, I think you'll manage," Steve replied, "I mean, if you learned how to walk in those… _pumps_ of yours, then I know you'll be able to dance in those."

Olyvia looked down at her three inch white heels. Steve did have a point, but two more days of practice, then two days later dancing on her wedding day? Didn't seem likely. Olyvia's stomach flopped over thinking about how soon the wedding was coming up. It seemed just like yesterday they had just started planning the wedding.

"I can't believe we have just four more days to the wedding," Olyvia said, her lips spreading into a big smile.

Steve nodded in agreement, "Seems just like last year we first met."

"Because it was last year," Olyvia said in amusement.

Steve grinned, "I know…but it feels like I've known you for longer."

"It's because we've been through so much crap together, we got to see each other's ugly side early on."

"You have no ugly side," Steve said, making Olyvia scoff, so Steve added, "You are too beautiful to have an ugly side."

"Okay, a not pretty side then."

Steve debated over that for a few seconds, "Eh, I guess we could go with that, if that's what you _really_ want."

Olyvia just shrugged, "It doesn't really matter to me. It's you trying to put a name to all my mood swings."

"And that's a lot."

"Glad to know you know it."

Steve smiled broadly before bending his head down and kissed her on the forehead, then her nose, then lastly her lips.

"I look forward to many more years with you," Steve whispered when he pulled away.

Olyvia smiled as well, "As do I."

* * *

"Livy's getting married! Livy's getting married!" Rosemary chanted as she danced about the room in her red bridesmaid gown.

"Calm down Midget, you're going to trip over your dress if you keep that up," Dianne scolded.

Screeching to a stop, Rosemary took in a deep breath to do just that. She started up with the dancing about though when Olyvia stepped out into the room in her wedding gown.

"Oh Livy you're so…so…you're so beautiful! I'm so jealous!"

Olyvia usually would retort that she wasn't pretty, but today she felt beautiful. And how could she not in her dress. Like Dianne, their mother had made her dress. It was pretty much a strapless white satin gown, but with a lace sheath over the bust and lace sleeves that went down to her elbows, making it a little more modest. There was slight ruching on the stomach area, hiding the seam where the lace stopped at the empire waistline. Olyvia's favorite part of the gown was the lace panel on her full skirt, adding a little interest to the plain white skirt. She wasn't so sure though how she liked the petticoat she was wearing underneath to keep the skirt full looking. It made it so much harder to walk.

"Livy's getting married!" Rosemary wailed miserably, throwing herself down onto Olyvia's couch, "I'm going to be all alone now!"

"Rosemary, get up, you're going to wrinkle your dress," her mother scolded.

Rosemary did as she was told, getting back to her feet. Brenda continued to pull and tug on Olyvia's dress and fuss with the elaborate bun her daughter's hair was in, when a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Since she had paid the rent for the month of October, she was still technically "living" in her apartment, so they were using it today for her to get ready, though she would be moving into Steve's newly bought house here in Ashland tonight.

"I'll get it!" Rosemary volunteered, teleporting over to the door.

Opening it, she saw it was Loki, so she let him in.

"I have something for the bride from her groom," Loki said, walking over to his sister-in-law and handing her a box tied with a silk cream colored ribbon, a small envelope tucked under the ribbon.

Taking the box, Olyvia first opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

_To the soon-to-be Mrs. Rogers,_

_ I found this amongst my things returned to me by S.H.I.E.L.D after waking from my seventy year sleep. It belonged to my mother and she wore it on her wedding day, I thought it fitting to give it to you. I know she would have loved you and wished for this as well._

_I love you. I'll see you at the end of the aisle._

_ Steve_

Olyvia couldn't help but smile at the start of the letter, excited to get rid of the soon-to-be part. Tucking the letter back into the envelope, she untied the ribbon and pulled the lid off the box. She gaped at the silver hair comb inside. The detail on it was exquisite, and it was just beautiful. Pulling it out, she handed it over to her mother.

"Oh wow, it's beautiful," she breathed.

"Think you can incorporate it into my 'do?"

Brenda nodded, and took a few moments to place the comb in her hair.

"Steve said it belonged to his mother," Olyvia commented.

"So we have something that covers having something old," Brenda said.

"Besides Steve?" Dianne quipped, laughing at the glare Olyvia shot her, "Sorry, but you set yourself up for that one, I couldn't help it. Okay, being serious now."

"Hey Loki, what's that other box you're hiding?" Rosemary asked, leaning over backwards to look at the box he had held behind his back.

"Oh right…," he began, moving to where everyone could see the box, "Um…it's from Stark so… I'm not sure whether you _want_ to open this."

Olyvia cautiously took the box, "I can expect nothing good from this."

"Just open it, I'm sure it's nothing too bad," Rosemary said.

She hesitated a few seconds, fiddling around with the bow on top, before turning to her younger sister, "Turn around Midget and close your eyes."

Rolling her eyes, Rosemary walked over to the corner, covering her eyes with her hands. Olyvia then popped open the box, and slapped the palm of her hand to her forehead.

"You can turn back around Midget."

"What is it?" she asked, teleporting back over to her sister.

"A garter," Olyvia groaned, holding up the red, white, and blue lacy monstrosity.

Dianne burst into laughter while Loki looked confused.

"I'm _not_ wearing it," Olyvia said, her face turning bright red, "It's not in my color scheme anyway."

"The red is," Dianne said through her laughter, "You should wear it! It'll be priceless seeing Steve's face when he has to get it."

Olyvia shook her head violently, earning a scolding from her mother saying she was going to ruin her hairdo, "No, no, no, no, no, no! It's too embarrassing for _me_! I'm not going to wear it!"

"Aww, come on," Dianne whined.

"Will someone please explain why this…thing is causing such an uproar?" Loki asked.

"A bride can wear a garter, it goes on her leg, and at the reception the groom is to…remove it," Dianne explained.

"Why didn't we do this for _our_ wedding then?" Loki asked.

Dianne blushed and Olyvia snickered, "Because…we didn't get one."

"Here's another question, how do you expect anyone to find anything under this thing?" Olyvia added, grabbing a fistful of her skirt and petticoat, "Poor man would get lost under there. Besides, I doubt Steve would want to either, not with a crowd watching."

"But alone?" Dianne enquired.

"Probably more than willing," Olyvia replied, and Rosemary gagged, "but no, I'm not going to, you can't make me!"

"Okay, okay, we won't," Dianne said, looking over to her mother who nodded in agreement, "Stark will be bummed."

"He just did it to tease Steve and I," Olyvia said, "He doesn't like us."

"On the contrary, I think he did it because he likes you guys," Rosemary said, "He teases people he likes."

"Well, then I want him to dislike me," Olyvia muttered, "At any rate, are we ready to go?"

Everyone nodded, grabbing their things and Brenda handing Olyvia her bouquet of red roses and other fall colored flowers. Gathering up her skirt, she headed out the door, her stomach starting up with its acrobatics again. This was finally happening. She was getting married in less than an hour.

* * *

Steve left for the wedding venue after Loki ever so kindly picked up the gift he had for his bride so it could be delivered to her. He hadn't noticed the other gift Loki had been carrying, not until Stark approached him as he paced around in the reception hall, trying not to throw up from his anxiety.

"So did Loki tell you I also got something for the bride?" Stark asked.

Steve stopped with his pacing to look at the billionaire, "What? No…why?"

"Oh, I just figured had you known you would have taken it and seen just what was in there," Stark said, "Glad to hear you didn't though so maybe we'll have some fun today."

Steve eyed Stark suspiciously, "What did you do?"

"I'm sure you've heard of the tradition of the garter, yes?"

All the blood ran out of Steve's face, because he did know of it.

"Stark! You—you—you are unbelievable!" Steve exclaimed, "That sort of thing is…improper, and…embarrassing."

"Embarrassing for you, but highly entertaining for the rest of us."

"I hate you," Steve seethed.

"After all we've been through?"

"_Especially_ after all we've been through," Steve retorted, "With all your teasing…it's infuriating!"

"You are easy to rile up, which makes the teasing fun," Stark rebutted, "So you only have yourself to blame."

Grumbling under his breath Steve walked away, knowing it'd be best if he just shut up and left. Stark left him alone for half an hour until he came to shoo Steve out of the building due to Olyvia arriving. It was time to Steve to take his place at the wedding arch. His nerves were starting to get the better of him, feeling just on the verge of puking. He felt so uncomfortable with all the eyes on him. It seemed the only ones not looking at him were Olyvia's eldest sister Kristen and her four kids, whom she was trying to get settled down. He only had to wait a little longer for Olyvia to come out and then everyone would be looking at her.

"You look ill," he heard someone say, and turning, saw it was Olyvia's cousin, Alexis. She was walking her daughter around while they had the chance so she wouldn't squirm much during the ceremony.

"Probably because I'm feeling ill," Steve said.

Alexis laughed, "I was nervous on my wedding day. Threw up a few times too, though that was probably mostly because of morning sickness."

"Oh…," Steve muttered, unsure of what to say to that.

"You're a lucky guy Steve," Alexis said, "Livy's a great person."

Steve smiled, "I know she is."

"You two will have a great life together, and I wish you many, many happy years ahead of you," Alexis said as she started walking her daughter back to the chairs.

"Thank you," Steve said.

It wasn't much later once that the music started, signaling the crowd to settle down and be quiet. Steve felt like his heart was going to give out, from how frantic and sporadic its beats were. The bridal party made their way down first, Loki being Steve's best man since the two were rather close friends now, and Dianna the maid of honor. Then as everyone stood to turn and look at the oncoming bride, Steve felt like his heart had just stopped, seeing this vision of white walking down the aisle. After a few moments, his heart remembered it needed to keep beating in order to keep the body alive, resuming its thundering pace. He numbly took Olyvia's hand as Allen handed her off to him, before they then linked their arms together.

"You look so beautiful," Steve managed to whisper to her while he had the chance.

Olyvia smiled, making his heart sputter again. After a few moments of having Olyvia at his side, his nerves finally calmed down, and looking back over to his bride, smiled. He couldn't possibly be happier at this moment, his heart swelling in joy as they said their "I do's." Then finally the moment he had been waiting for, the kiss. He tried not to be as enthusiastic as he felt, but he probably kissed her for longer than necessary, not that either of them minded, but once they broke apart Steve saw the look his now father-in-law's face. If the man had a gun, Steve was sure he would have been shot for that.

They made their way up to the reception hall, where the newlyweds waited in a separate room to be introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Rogers to the crowd. While they waited, they took the opportunity to speak privately.

"So uh…Stark spoke to me earlier," Steve began.

Olyvia blushed, "Did he tell you what he got me as a gag wedding gift?"

"He told me he was being serious with it," Steve said.

"The garter?"

Steve nodded, his own cheeks burning in embarrassment now, "Please tell me you aren't wearing it. It'd just be…mortifying."

Olyvia laughed, "I figured as much, which is why I'm not. It's still in its box, hidden in the car."

"Oh thank God," Steve breathed.

With another laugh, Olyvia leaned in and kissed him, "I love you."

Steve smiled, and replied against her lips, "I love you too."

From the other room, the couple could hear Dianne announcing over a microphone, "And here are our newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers!"

"Oh that's me isn't it?" Olyvia asked teasingly, linking her arm with Steve's as she hurried to the door.

Steve chuckled, "Yes it is."

Things were finally as they should be.

* * *

Stark was rather disappointed there was no garter toss, but he understood that it was the bride's wishes not to do so. Still, it would have been funny to watch. The newlywed's first dance went off fairly smoothly, Olyvia stumbling a little due to her petticoat, rather than her shoes, and she joked to Steve that perhaps she should have practiced dancing with it on. She would have felt like a ballerina! Or just silly.

For the bouquet toss, Pepper again caught it, so if that wasn't a big hint to Stark, they didn't know what was. It made Olyvia wish only somewhat they did do the garter toss to see if Stark would catch it, because then it would be a sign from the universe that he needed to marry that woman! They worked very well together, so Olyvia didn't see why he wouldn't.

After many hours spent at the reception and eating the catered dinner, Olyvia and Steve said their goodbyes, got into his decorated car, after clearing off the windshield of balloons and streamers, and drove to their home. Like Dianne and Loki had done, they were planning on leaving for their honeymoon on the morrow. Unlike Dianne and Loki, they were going to be going somewhere warm for their honeymoon. They were going to Hawaii, starting out at Oahu and then island jumping from there and would be gone for three weeks, missing out on Halloween, but being back just in time for Thanksgiving.

Pulling into their driveway, Steve jumped out of the car and ran around to the passenger side before Olyvia could open the door, and swept her up into his arms. Olyvia couldn't help but laugh at Steve's fervor. Due to his super strength, he didn't need to set her down when they reached the door, easily able to hold her with just one arm as he searched for the house key. Opening the door, he stepped inside, kicked the door shut, carrying her across the threshold as tradition called.

"Home sweet home," Olyvia said, smiling up at her husband.

"It now feels like home with you here," Steve said.

Setting her down onto her feet, Steve pulled her to him, capturing her lips with his. Winding his hands around her back, he ran his hand along the spine of the dress, looking for the zipper. He groaned disgruntledly as Olyvia pulled his hands away and took a step back.

"Think you can help me take my hair out of this thing?" Olyvia asked, pointing to the intricately designed bun.

Steve sighed, "I guess I can."

Reaching up, he first pulled out the silver comb from her hair, "So did you like the gift?"

"I loved it," Olyvia replied, working at loosening her hair, pulling out a few bobby pins, "Thank you…for deeming me worthy of such a precious token of your mother's."

"Of course," Steve said, "You are more than worthy."

She smiled up at him as she continued to pull out the bobby pins. Placing the comb down on a nearby shelf, Steve walked around behind her and helped her out with deconstructing the hairdo.

"Geez, who put this together? Some master puzzle maker?" Steve asked.

Olyvia couldn't help but laugh at that, "I don't know, perhaps. I don't know the stylist who did my hair so it is very possible."

After fighting with the hair for a few minutes, it all finally came loose, and Olyvia had barely time to set down the handful of bobby pins before Steve whirled her back around to face him, burying his hands into her hair as he kissed her. Unwilling to break from the kiss, Steve haphazardly led Olyvia to their bedroom. It didn't help that she was helping him out of his suit jacket and tie. And the whole time he spent trying to find that blasted zipper hidden _somewhere_ in the dress. His mother-in-law crafted it like this just to spite him, didn't she?

"Everyone is out to torture me today, aren't they?" Steve asked with a groan.

"Having trouble finding the invisible zipper?" Olyvia asked in amusement.

"It's invisible?"

"It's a sewing term for when you hide the zipper and make it look like it's not there," Olyvia explained.

"Ah, well I hate it," Steve said.

Olyvia reached around to the nape of her neck, her fingers grasping at the back of the neckline, "Besides, I think there was a hook at the top of the dress anyway."

"See, torture," Steve said.

Olyvia rolled her eyes, her lips spreading into a smile.

"I wonder how evil you'd think I was if I said I wanted to wait until we're on our honeymoon for this," Olyvia said absentmindedly.

"Y-you're not _serious_, are you?" Steve asked, "You're joking…right?"

"And if I'm not?"

Steve gave a humorless laugh, "Ha, no. You have teased me far too much, Mrs. Rogers."

Olyvia grinned like a fool, "Hmm, I like the sound of that."

"So do I," Steve replied, before giving Olyvia a curious look, "Are you having trouble?"

"Uh…yeah, I can't see it so…you give it a go?" Olyvia asked, turning around and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Like I can see it either," Steve muttered, and then sighed, "This is starting to get awkward."

"We can be awkward together!"

"Aren't we already?"

"Yes, yes we are."

Steve hardly bothered looking for the hook before Olyvia heard him sigh in defeat, "I don't think this thing is _ever_ going to come off. At least not easily."

"You rip this dress I will _kill_ you," Olyvia threatened, turning to give him the evil eye.

"I won't, I won't," Steve assured her.

"And just so you know, you'll have to figure out the ties on the petticoat to get that off too," Olyvia added.

Steve sighed, "Have I mentioned the torture methods your mother has resorted to?"

Olyvia chuckled, reaching back once again and finally finding the hook, unclasped it, "Ah-ha! There it is."

Olyvia realized she probably shouldn't have announced that so readily, finding her husband more than eager to get her out of that "evil, torture device" called her wedding dress. The dress pooled into a white satin puddle on the floor and Olyvia found herself lying on the bed, the petticoat still tied on, but Steve didn't seem to care as he kissed her again. It wasn't like she wasn't ready for this moment, but she had to admit, she was just a little terrified. Feeling her tense up in his arms, Steve paused.

"Is everything alright dearest?" he asked.

She nodded, "Everything is just fine, I'm just…a little scared…and nervous."

"Glad I'm not the only one," Steve said in relief.

"Really? Nervous? _You_?" Olyvia asked incredulously, "I'd beg to differ, I really couldn't tell."

"I'm trying to ignore my nerves right now. Less chance of making myself sick on our wedding night."

"Well, we most certainly don't want that."

"No we don't."

Pulling his face down to hers, she kissed him tenderly, her lips just brushing against his.

"There's nothing to worry about though," she whispered, "It'll be perfect because we'll be together."

Steve couldn't argue with that, and kissed his wife once more. And as long as they had each other, they would continue to have perfect, happy days, despite whatever challenges life may throw their way.


	15. Author's Note

This is for those who don't read what I write in the bold and missed that the first chapter of part 3 of this series has been posted, the title being **Overcome**. Hope you have enjoyed the story thus far and will the next.


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